A book review by Kate O’Brien.
Can you imagine a world where books are deemed valueless by society? Can you picture living in a world where no one asks questions, where even walking outside is deemed suspicious? Can you imagine the chaos of what would happen if firemen were no longer heroic figures who put out flames and instead, they lit houses on fire instead? The scary thing is maybe we can picture this world. Ray Bradbury brings this world to life in Fahrenheit 451.
Guy Montag is a fireman. He has always been a fireman. His father was a fireman, his grandfather was a fireman, and these days it is almost like his hands move by themselves, pouring kerosene and lighting matches as though he has no part in the action. He is happy to be part of the world that never reads until he is not. Guy’s mindset begins to shift when his young neighbour Clarisse awakens a long-forgotten part of his mind, if it was ever awake at all, the part that likes to think, by asking a few questions. Then one day, a horrific fire forces Guy to admit that his hands do not move of their own accord. He does indeed start fires, he burns books and with them, he burns curiosity, he burns access to information, he burns wonder and stories until he can no longer burn anything anymore. Maybe he should take a look inside these books, maybe he should see what all the fuss is about, maybe he does not wish to be a fireman anymore.
Fahrenheit 451 is rather bleak, and it explores heavy themes such as conforming vs questioning, the individual vs society, emptiness vs meaning. This dystopian book may be desolate and at times it is quite dark, however it does end on a hopeful note, one that notes the resilience of humanity after exploring how cold humanity can become.
This book is about book burning, but not in the way that one might expect. Fahrenheit 451 is not about certain groups of people burning and banning certain kinds of books, this book is about a world where all books are deemed worthless. Fahrenheit 451 presents a world in which all emotions aside from happiness are repressed. You cannot have too many thoughts, you cannot have conflicting ideas, you cannot know about any dangers or sadness because none of those things are fun. Go speeding in your car, have walls of television, have constant media playing through earbuds, even when you sleep, escape all thoughts, escape all reflection, and just have fun. All fun, all the time should be great, shouldn’t it? We may think so, but within all this fun, within all this constant, relentless distraction, there is nothing but cold, empty, misery.
I really enjoyed this book, despite it being more on the bleak side of the reading scale.
I have always been in a position where access to books has never been a question. I have always been able to read anything that I wanted, and I recognise that this is a privilege. It is easy to take books and access to all kinds of books for granted sometimes, which is why I felt that Fahrenheit 451 was an especially important read. I would recommend this book to readers aged 14+.
I had the opportunity to discuss this book even further alongside my podcast co-host Seán, and if you are interested in the themes I mentioned up above, you can listen to episode #04 of Your Book or Mine? now on Spotify.
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