Reviews with content warning for Abortion - Fahrenheit 451

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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

27 reviews

savvykins's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Even though the premise and the book are undoubtedly well-loved, the plot's potential was wasted by unnecessary metaphors, long monologs, and flat world-building. Don't get me wrong, the book itself was good, but it could've been great. Bradbury writes heavily and figuratively in this novel, and even as a poetry enthusiast, this book contains too much. He would go on for paragraphs about minuscule details and then explain plotholes with an out-of-place monologue. The characters lack depth and any sense of self, which may reflect the mindless society, but we don't see any new traits after Montag's eventual transition. However, the book is a classic and for the right reasons. For being written in the 50s, the story was revolutionary and still holds up to this day. Bradbury created a deep, impactful concept. I will give his credit where credit is due, his poetic writing creates more emotions and a hazy perspective for the readers. The poetry can be very heavy and almost create an uncomfortable feeling while reading because you don't really know where he's getting at until he puts a conversely very direct explanation in the form of a speech or a secret Montag's mentor, Faber, reveals. Furthermore, the end falls incredibly flat and disappointing-ending abruptly. Overall, I'd recommend reading as it does have its impacts and provides new perspectives, but I don't recommend rereading or indulging simply as a book to enjoy for the sake of it.

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ebp's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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michaelion's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i read this once in 2020 (fell asleep in the last hour of the audiobook but i retained the whole story, woke up the next day, relistened to the parts i missed), and watched the truffaut movie in one of my last film classes, but i have the book version and i thought i might as well give it the honest try now that i’m officially integrated into reading.

welp, i gave it 3 stars back when i didnt have a rating system, and 3 stars was too generous. i get what he was going for but there are so many questions and plot holes. WHY do they know how to read if books are illegal is the biggest one! WHO taught them and HOW and WHY. and honestly with that question alone I don’t even need to get into my other issues. the story isn’t good but white people have a very low bar for what they have made into classics. basically anything that happened in real life to people of color they fictionalized and went “isn't that terrible? wouldn’t that be terrible if that happened to us civilized people? and isn’t the prose fantastic? let’s make this a classic.” like there are absolutely better dystopian and censorship based books. let me stop the man’s already six feet under.

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kajasversion's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

i agree with everything Sideria said so i’ll just leave this here: “Besides that it also describes a future of degenerating and increasingly faster entertainment. Entertainment that doesn't ask hard questions. And in that it often managed to predict some bad current tendencies in 21st century media. 30sec short form video bombardement. But as much as the book gets right about the future, it gets wrong as well. Because books are more popular than ever. Long form video content and endless critiques of power structures still exist. There's just more of everything now and (as of now) we make our own decision on what we spend our time on. As a cautionary tale it does work I think and Ray Bradbury never claimed that he tried to predict the future.

The book doesn't escape the solid undertone of 1950's pre feminist misogyny. Every single woman in this book except Clarisse (who's childish and innocent) is hysterical. It's not even clear if they have a job. Granted, given the book's short 200 page length, you never truly get an idea of everyday life in this Dystopia but I'd assume gender dynamics is one the things that hadn't changed. This is the biggest point of critique I have.”

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elisabeth888's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Although this book was published over 70 years ago, its critiques continue to remain relevant to modern society. Within Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury critiques the dystopian society in which Montag lives. It is a totalitarian regime which uses anti-intelletualism, excessive violence, and the destruction of media to promote a dominate, misleading narrative.

The media that people are allowed to consume is surface-level and empty, prioritizing sensationalism rather than having a larger meaning. People, like Montag's wife, are addicted to watching screens with programs that contain no real substance and are often grisly. This feels like a prediction for modern-day algorithms which are employed to keep people addicted to media consumption.

I found Montag's character development to be very interesting to read throughout the novel. I wish we could have had more backstory for each character within the novel, especially for Clarrise and Beatty. I found these secondary characters to make great speeches throughout the novel and would have liked to hear more from them. Otherwise, I found Fahrenheit 451 to be a good read.

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singalana's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Omia ajatuksia ja tuntemuksia oli hankalaa summata yhteen tämän kirjan lukemisen jälkeen. Luulen, että se pitääkö tästä kirjasta vai ei, riippuu paljon siitä mitä asioita kirjassa arvostaa.

Fahrenheit 451 on dystooppinen novelli tulevaisuudesta, missä kirjat on kielletty ja ihmiset pidetään tyytyväisenä viihteen avulla. Sodat ovat normaaleja ja ihmiset tekevät itsemurhia, mutta kukaan ei pysähdy miettimään ovatko he onnellisia. Päähenkilö Guy Montag kuuluu palomiehiin, joiden tehtävä on etsiä ja rankaista rikollisia: ihmisiä, joiden hallussa on kirjoja. Kirjat, sekä niitä hallussa pitäneen ihmisen talo poltetaan. Montag pitää työstään, kunnes eräänä päivänä nuori tyttö kysyy häneltä onko hän onnellinen.

On suorastaan hämmästyttävää miten paljon kirjan yhteiskunta muistuttaa maapallon nykytilaa: aivoja turruttavaa viihdettä, mekaanisia robottikoiria valvomassa lainrikkojia, kirjojen kieltämistä. Kuitenkin on sanottava, että kirjan sanoma on vaikuttavampi kuin toteutus. Jos pidät syväluotaavista hahmojen ja maailman kuvauksesta, saatat pettyä tämmän kirjan proosaan. Täytyy kuitenkin miettiä, onko tämä tarkoituksella: onko esimerkiksi Montagin hahmon tarkoitus toimia kehyksinä, joihin voimme asettaa itsemme? Kirjassa esitetään myös muutamia hyviä havaintoja esimerkiksi siitä, mitä ihminen jättää jälkeensä kuollessaan.

Valitettavasti olen itse sellainen lukija, että kaipaan hahmoilta hieman enemmän syvyyttä. Lisäksi olisin toivonut välillä hieman viipyilevämpää kerrontaa, etenkin kun esiteltiin tarinan kannalta tärkeitä konsepteja. Fahrenheit on kuitenkin nopealukuinen ja teemoiltaan tärkeä, joten suosittelen sitä kyllä lämpimästi kaikille.

Tämän painoksen kansi on graafisesti miellyttävä ja kuvaava, ja selkämyksen kuviointi on tehty muistuttamaan tulitikkulaatikon raapaisupintaa.

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te_ss_i's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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lizziaha's review against another edition

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3.75

Bradbury clearly has a beautiful writing style. The beginning of this book is breathtaking—I wish Clarisse had appeared more often throughout the rest of the book. Despite the book being obviously dated, I do think some aspects of his dystopian world were surprisingly parallel to our present. For some people to see that, of course, they’d need to think about it critically, something that can be lacking in our insular world (Bradbury definitely got that one right).

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akvolcano's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I’m glad that I’ve read this now, I doubt I’d have the same perspective if I read it in high school. I find it quite ironic and ignorant that the author claims that “minorities” are the ones destroying literature and thoughtfulness. That THEY would be and ARE the reason information censoring exists. When in current times, it is people who look and think like him, a rich white old man, who are the main source of people who like to censor stories written by and about minorities. He also thinks that complexity can only be created, exist, maintain, in an exclusionist and harmful environment. It is a shame he does not see the beautiful endless deep complexities in inclusivity and understanding and active listening and having empathy for others. He is missing out.
As for the book itself, I wish parts of the afterword was included in the book. I also wish that this book was longer….where it left off still feels like the backstory. I do enjoy the futuristic exploration! I also agree with placing high value on letting ourselves slowing down and giving us a chance to think and to feel. I would like to write down some quotes from this book!
I also find it ironic that this book has been banned on and off. I feel like it proves part of his point that it is more of so the thoughts and actions that happen after reading a book-that is more dangerous than the book itself. The power comes from people, books help with the process of preserving and sharing those ideas.
Overall, I am glad I finally read this book myself. I wouldn’t read it again, nor would I recommend it without heavy discussion, but it does paint a good picture. Oh and also-

The idea of people memorizing books, stories, history-is not original. It comes from Indigenous people and it comes from so many other cultures. But it doesn’t surprise me that credit is not given to the source of which gave him the idea to include it in the book

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johannarose's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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