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berratrixie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
i don't think reading this book was a bad choice. i quite liked the way it was written. bradbury has a really imaginative writing style that can make any description of an object, a person, an ongoing situation evoke very vivid mental imagery.
BUT
i couldn't help but get the suspicion that the real message wasn't that ALL destruction of ANY informative content is bad, rather just the destruction of this one medium. any other sources of content or information and the people who use them are painted in a pretty bad light. i initially thought the criticism lay more in the authoritarian and fascist aspects of the government portrayed in the book, but reading some of the stuff he's said over the years, it's VERY clear he comes from a very conservative and bigoted perspective. especially him talking about how political correctness or, as he calls it, "censorship from minorities" relates to the book ... yikes !
i also think that the pacing picks WAY up during the third and final part of the book. suddenly there's one plot-altering confrontation after another, concluding with a really weird and unexpected ending.
all this adds up to a really unfocused dystopian novel that, while fun to read, simultaneously has a really questionable message at its core.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, and Death
Minor: Rape
backitupmoony's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: War, Murder, and Child death
gvstyris's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
Fahrenheit 451 was the bane of my existence when I first read it, and I can now confidently confirm that my original 14-year-old opinion was incredibly based.
This book is a slog. For one thing, the world-building is pretty messy. The 'book ban' in this dystopia isn't a harrowing tale of authoritarian censorship, or particularly topical given what's happening in the 21st century US, because it's not about censorship at all: it's a 'metaphor' for a world where television rots everyone's braincells and short attention spans kill public interest in literature. In that way, Fahrenheit 451 reads as a 1950s time capsule that has not stood the test of time. It's anti-progress and (lowkey) just technology fear-mongering, which made a lot more sense once I unpacked Bradbury's political beliefs.
Honestly, this novel probably would've worked better in its original short story format. Montag's character arc is underdeveloped and unconvincing regardless, and I would've preferred to not to suffer through all 200-something pages of it.
Also, I feel the need to add that I can see why this book is so popular with a bunch of book lovers...lol. Anyways, I'm excited to re-read 1984 soon!
I'd like to conclude with some of Ray Bradbury's other words of true wisdom:
I don't believe in government. I hate politics. I'm against it. And I hope that sometime this fall, we can destroy part of our government, and next year destroy even more of it. The less government, the happier I will be.
Graphic: Murder and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, and War
allthebooks36's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, and Suicide
rishankl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death
mxmorganic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt and War
readingwithlex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I quite literally clutched this book to my heart when I finished it. no words for how incredible this was. truly.
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Child death and War
corruptednatz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Minor: Murder and War
te_ss_i's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, War, Toxic relationship, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Murder, Suicide attempt, Violence, Drug use, and Police brutality
jazmckay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Minor: Suicide attempt, Murder, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Eating disorder