Book Review - Fahrenheit 451

“You’re not important. You’re not anything. Some day the load we’re carrying with us may help someone. But even when we had the books on hand, a long time ago, we didn’t use what we got out of them. We went right on insulting the dead.” 

Following on with our dystopian reviews we have the classic Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury first published in 1953. 

I was so excited to start this read following on with Brave New World and it is obvious how Fahrenheit became canonical within the dystopian genre. So let’s talk through the best and the lows of the text. What is the purpose of the novel? 

Fahrenheit follows the narrative of Guy Montag, a fireman in a world where firemen cause fires instead of putting them out. Usually, it is books, the classics, that inspire these blazes. But Montag begins to question why books are so taboo. Why is their world so focused on distraction rather than absorbing information? 

One of my favourite parts of the text is how the fire imagery is woven throughout. You are bombarded with the symbolism of burning, destruction, death and unnatural beings. It’s uncomfortable. Reflective of Montag’s alienation from a world he should be used to, much like our own as a reader with a classic book. The ideology of book burning itself is even personified in the character of Beatty - The fire chief and Montag's boss. 

Beatty is educated, manipulative, controlling and intimidating. He is the fire and the system. Which makes his symbolic ending all the more poignant. In direct contrast, we have Clarissa and Faber. Two characters representative of humanity, knowledge, self-preservation and curiosity. Montag is torn between the two. As a result, we see this battle between a society that is restrictive and human inquisitive nature. 

The symbolism is truly beautifully done. When you really think about the aspects of the text the story open up that little bit further and you see the world Bradbury imagined. 

That being said. I do have to point out that at times the story did feel tedious and although the battle is present you really have to dissect the language in order to get past Montag’s aggressive narrative. As a result, the ending - which was by far my favourite part of the story - does seem to come out of nowhere. Although it is written beautifully, it seems an almost quick fix for the novel. You’re left afterwards wondering what has just happened. It’s baffling to read. Though it could be said this is all purposeful to mirror the event itself and Montag’s emotional response to it. 

Obviously coming after Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 had some big shoes to fill. Which is why in ratings I’ve decided to give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it could have been a little better. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. And the message behind it remains prevalent. 

“... some day we’ll stop making the goddam funeral pyres and jumping into the middle of them. ”