A review by jessdrafahl
Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

Fahrenheit 451 is one of those classics that sticks with you, no matter how old it is. Written more than 60 years ago, everything that Ray Bradbury wrote in this supreme dystopian novel still seems entirely possible. The idea of the onset of technology, primarily, seems more and more daunting as the years march forth. In Bradbury's novel, people are plastered in front of their screens that give little to no meaningful content to them, but rather keep them entertained with their "families." Children are not raised, but thrown in front of screens and sent off to school with the hopes of being raised without any intervention. How is that not different from the iPads that are shoved in toddler's hands to keep them quiet? To know that Bradbury had predicted this society, and that we lived up to it nonetheless, is horrifying. Perhaps books, after all, cannot be our saving grace.