Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5 stars
This has been on my pile of shame (books that I should have read by now) for so many years and even if I had a nebulous idea of what it was about I didn’t really have any inclination to pick it up. Then I heard someone talk about RBs incredible writing and I decided to pick it up immediately.
And oh boy - I need to read everything this man has ever written! His writing is so incredibly stunning and I love the story that he crafted.
This has been on my pile of shame (books that I should have read by now) for so many years and even if I had a nebulous idea of what it was about I didn’t really have any inclination to pick it up. Then I heard someone talk about RBs incredible writing and I decided to pick it up immediately.
And oh boy - I need to read everything this man has ever written! His writing is so incredibly stunning and I love the story that he crafted.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An incredible book and an important piece of literature. Relevant today.
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
masterpiece but i am irate rereading in 2025
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I originally read Fahrenheit 451 as a summer reading project going into the eighth grade. If any English teachers are reading this review, please, I beg you, do not make your young students read this book on their own. The result of that summer reading assignment was that I didn't really understand what I had read, but I knew it was the worst reading experience I had ever had.
Returning to this book over a decade later, I was apprehensive because the negative feelings from that first reading stuck with me. I am pleased to report that now that my frontal lobe is fully developed, I had a much easier time understanding and following the story. I have a greater appreciation of the story and it's themes around technology, censorship, and community.
However, I still cannot say I enjoyed this book. I don't think I ever will. Bradbury's writing is very poetic and figurative, which I know many people love, but it does not work well for me and my brain.
Returning to this book over a decade later, I was apprehensive because the negative feelings from that first reading stuck with me. I am pleased to report that now that my frontal lobe is fully developed, I had a much easier time understanding and following the story. I have a greater appreciation of the story and it's themes around technology, censorship, and community.
However, I still cannot say I enjoyed this book. I don't think I ever will. Bradbury's writing is very poetic and figurative, which I know many people love, but it does not work well for me and my brain.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A book that needs to be thought about.
Thoroughly readable, even with the great swathes of metaphor and somewhat purple prose that I have often found incredibly off putting in the hands of inferior writers. In this case the power of the story allows many incomprehensible phrases to be ignored as the tale leaps ahead. The writing often has a poetic quality which is thoroughly absorbing and adds a certain, somewhat surprising, thrill to the reading experience.
As relevant today as it was when written 72 years ago.
More in a while….I need to ponder.
One month later….it’s interesting to compare this vision of a future with A Brave New World. In the latter people are created specifically to be happy with their allotted roles in life - and it works for everyone except the free thinking Alphas. In this case original thought and reading about other ideas are specifically banned and people are fed endless soap operas apparently aimed at each audience member. On the surface most people seem happy with that, but in practice there is an underlying deep unhappiness - so deep that even potential suicides deny ever reaching such a low ebb, apparently incapable as they are of recognising their own unhappiness with their pointless existence. In both visions of a future world drugs are necessary to keep the populace under control.
Without some sense of personal ambition, no matter how small, what is the point in living?
Thoroughly readable, even with the great swathes of metaphor and somewhat purple prose that I have often found incredibly off putting in the hands of inferior writers. In this case the power of the story allows many incomprehensible phrases to be ignored as the tale leaps ahead. The writing often has a poetic quality which is thoroughly absorbing and adds a certain, somewhat surprising, thrill to the reading experience.
As relevant today as it was when written 72 years ago.
More in a while….I need to ponder.
One month later….it’s interesting to compare this vision of a future with A Brave New World. In the latter people are created specifically to be happy with their allotted roles in life - and it works for everyone except the free thinking Alphas. In this case original thought and reading about other ideas are specifically banned and people are fed endless soap operas apparently aimed at each audience member. On the surface most people seem happy with that, but in practice there is an underlying deep unhappiness - so deep that even potential suicides deny ever reaching such a low ebb, apparently incapable as they are of recognising their own unhappiness with their pointless existence. In both visions of a future world drugs are necessary to keep the populace under control.
Without some sense of personal ambition, no matter how small, what is the point in living?
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes