Fahrenheit 451 (Ave Fenix)

Customer Rating:
Summary: Science Fiction Masked In A Glaze Of Poetic Impulse
Comment: If ever there is a formula for the perfect novel, 451 has the ingredients. It would be one part science fiction masked in a glaze of poetic impulse, settled on a bed of classic literature soaking up the juices of vast philosophical thought. The burning of books is a horror to any who love the written word and our freedom to dream. It would be our worst nightmare for society to regress to a state of anti-intellectualism so staunch that ideas themselves have become the enemy. Ray Bradbury not only captures our fears in this post nuclear world but also touches upon our often forgotten love for the stories that have captured our hearts. This is a must read for anyone who has ever loved a book.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A dash of cold water, please
Comment: Our book club recently decided to make every other book choice a "classic" book which, for one reason or another, none of us has read. Fahrenheit 451 was this month's choice. After plowing through Bradbury's self-aggrandizing Foreward AND Introduction, I was ready to be enthralled. No such luck. This had to be one of the most abysmal books of all time. I suspect there's a bit of The Emperor's New Clothes (a much better read, by the way) going on here. In other words, if you dare to criticize Bradbury, then you must be one of the mindless rubes who hate books and philosophy and creativity and yadda yadda yadda. Fine, whatever. To put it delicately, this book stunk like yesterday's diapers. I have nothing but sympathy for the poor students who are forced to read this drivel for class--at least I had the option of putting it down. I am a college English major and a Senior Editor at a major publishing house, as well as an avid reader. Bradbury's over-the-top vision of intellectuals being rebellious outsiders who are hunted down is hilariously vain. His celebration of intellect above all else excludes other virtues such as love, compassion, humor, etc.. Interesting how these themes are given such short shrift. Bradbury is an overheated, macho, pseudo-intellectual with a chip on his shoulder. After reading this, all I wanted to do was flip on the TV and watch Three's Company reruns in order the cleanse the palate.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Dated screed
Comment: I am frustrated by the sloppiness of this book. From what I understand, Bradbury sat in a library and wrote it in a few weeks, and it shows. Montag is introduced as a man happy in his job. The meeting with Clarisse blows his mind! But then Bradbury throws in numerous details indicating that his dissatisfaction has been mounting for some time. Although Montag is purportedly of a divided mind, the development of his character is very abrupt and unconvincing. But why develop what is essentially a mouthpiece for your own ranting? Blech. Bradbury's ideas have come to fruition in our time, but, ironically, his own work is not literature at all. I do not understand why this work is lauded as a classic.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Prophetic, but Immature
Comment: This was one of my favorite books in high school, and reading it again had a certain charm, but my issue with it can be summed up in a small quote from an interview included in the final pages.

"DEL RAY: In the introduction to the recently published Bradbury: An Illustrated Life", a wonderful book which I have spent hours immersed in--

RAY BRADBURY: Isn't that an incredible book?"

I had the same issue with Brave New World. Even though these science fiction romps are interesting and at times exciting, the authors are so in love with themselves and their prophetic ideas, it hurts; sometimes it even cramps the writing. The ham-fisted emotions of Guy Montag are bizarre and nonsensical to say the least--the other characters suffer a similar sort of cartoonishness.

I do see why it's such a great book for high schoolers though.

Customer Rating:
Summary: A thrilling combination of 50's pulp sci-fi and reflective commentary
Comment: By my count, this'll be the 1,218th review for this book on amazon, so what could I possibly say that the other 1,217 haven't?

But for those few who dare dig this deep to read: I loved the book. I've read numerous novels and thrillers for fun, and also dabbled in more serious, non-fiction as well (check my profile if you want), but this one book managed to bridge the two meta-genres. In Ray Bradbury's comments he mentions that he wrote the book on typewriters that charged a dime per hour in a university library, driven there by the distractions of two young daughters in his house; as a result (imho) the work comes fast and furious and makes no apologies for failing to artistically create a subtle and symbolic background.

The characters are few and the scenes sparse but it is a book that almost says as much in what is left out as what is included. It is also a book that fully describes (even immerses) the reader in this distopian future which only slowly comes to mirror our own. The commentary, like many of the characters, is never explicit, left to the reader to draw their own conclusions. Rather than the spoonfeeding of Animal Farm or even 1984, true motivations and causes are hidden and the reader's own perception of civilization can guide them.