January 2014 - Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

down with conformity!

 

I read this so long ago that the movie has replaced my recollections of it. I know that's because Oskar Werner, one of my favorite actors and so easy to look at, starred as Guy. I should read it again as the ending is so great and descriptions are so much better than movie flashes.

 

and if you do we would love to hear your views on it

 

There's a movie?? Any good?

 

www.imdb.com/title/tt0060390/‎ made in 1966 apparently.

 

I found a copy of the book (among hundreds left here by my son when he moved to Japan). I read it immediately. I'm so glad I did. If it weren't for the lyric voice and emoting face of Oskar Werner, I might not remember the movie now at all. Bradbury's descriptions and writing are so much better. In the afterword by the author, I learned that he wrote the novel on a typewriter, in a basment at UCLA, that you had to insert a dime every hour to use it. Although it is the last day for Fahrenheit 451 to be book of the month, I hope many people will be encouraged to read it anyway.

 

The BOTM threads stay open for discussion, so any time any one wants to add something new to a discuss they are welcome to.

Do you have any thoughts on the book relevant to the discussion or perhaps bringing up some new points that you would like to share?

 

Okay, I found the depiction of Guy Montag to be well-written. At times he is naive, questioning and pondering things that should be obvious. In other scenes he is bold and insightful. That is realistic given his occupation, home life, discontent, and infatuation with the free spirit Clarisse.
Bradbury breaks some writing taboos but with moderate success. E.g. "The beetle was rushing. The beetle was roaring. The beetle raised its speed. The beetle was whining. The beetle was in high thunder. The beetle came skimming. The beetle came in a single whistling trajectory..." You feel the focus on the car chasing him. On occasion there is overkill like this in his descriptions and I found myself thinking, "Enough, okay, I get the idea." Still, the book packs a lot of punch for a work of only 173 pages and is worthy of repeated readings.

 

Great review!

So how did those descriptions make you feel? What did you think of the themes of the book? Does it have a relevant message for today?

 

Meadow, you didn't tell me there was an essay test! Kidding. The theme of a society being entertained all the time in an effort to find happiness is especially relevant, although we haven't yet reached the point of destroying poems and books that elicit other emotions. We can learn to be on guard and remember, as the people-books at the end do, that knowledge and creative thoughts are important and worth preserving

 

It's a BOTM discussion LOL ... discuss! ha ha ha. Hmmm haven't we? There are any number of book burnings in recent history.

 

Read several times.

 

Again that's nice, but do you have any thoughts to contribute to the discussion?