Fahrenheit 451 was published in the 1950s as a futuristic, science fiction tale of what could happen to our society . . . and our books. Common life in this fictional world is to zip around at top speeds, to sit in a living room watching a full-wall television, and to digest and regurgitate anything the government says. (It doesn't sound that fictional to me, does it to you?)
In that day, firemen are not firefighters. Actually, they do nothing to stop fires; their specialty is starting fires. And what do they burn? They burn houses, books, and thinking people who have no place in this society.
But, of course, a few people in this world are still thinking for themselves -- thus the need for firemen. And one of these firemen, Guy Montag, is starting to wonder what the books he has been burning actually say, and why these thinking people seem to love them so much. Montag begins to sneak a few books here and there. Then, he begins to read them.
Ray Bradbury's tale is engaging and thought-provoking, a true classic. His writing style is descriptive and edgy, which made listening to this book easy. My only criticism is the overkill with hells and damns, but it was not enough to detract from the overall story, and it was easy enough to ignore while listening. I like Ray Bradbury's thinking in this novel, and, though over fifty years old, the relevance is uncanny.
Though I don't usually enjoy afterwords in novels, Ray Bradbury's is further eye-opening as he discusses the ways that we, in essence, burn books today. Don't skip it.
"We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?"
-- From Fahrenheit 451
