I read this book a while back after hearing the universal praise for it, and ended up not enjoying it. The prose was often confusing, with some parts that I’m still not sure what exactly was happening. Characters felt one-dimensional with rarely any development and the female characters were so useless that it’s borderline misogynistic. The themes of the story had no nuance, being either shoved in your face constantly or literally explained to you in a long-winded monologue by characters made only to spout these facts. Not only that, but the whole message of “book good tv bad” is just incredibly overdone, with the fact that various television shows, along with video games and music, can tell powerful stories that change the lives of those who experience them on the same level, if not better, than books do. Now books are important and are an amazing medium, but disregarding everything but books is extremely elitist, leading to the entire book sounding like the rambling of an old man who complains about every bit of technology while being told that vaccines cause babies to turn into reptoids by Facebook. Outside of the book itself, I see many people defending it vehemently, calling everyone who didn’t like the book “part of the problem”, basically belittling them for not being a snob who reads nothing but dry, lifeless literature from 400 years ago. What did you think about the book? Why did you like/not like it?
You must log in or register to comment.
Masterpiece. It’s not just about books. It’s about single-minded society we have today. He predicted cancel-culture long time ago. Disagree with everything you wrote.
He predicted cancel-culture long time ago
He did no such thing. The so called “cancel-culture” has always been a part of humanity.
It just wasn’t that big of a deal until conservatives started getting their panties in a twist because people are done with their bullshit.
Yeah, he calls out examples that were contemporary to his time. The book says something about racists not liking civil rights and “coloured” people not liking being compared to monkeys (go figure). He wasn’t predicting anything, just complaining about activism at the time.
Best hype when I read it is that it should happen again ( Nazi Germany during the 30’s). Sad thing is it’s happening in America.
I think it’s popularity among the public is just a result of its popularity in school curricula. Tons of people in the American school system had to read it. Most people don’t read outside of or after leaving school, so it’s common to a see a list of favorites that just looks like an English class reading list:
Great Gatsby Fahrenheit 451 1984 Animal Farm Brave New World Lord of the Flies Of Mice and Men
I like some of these more than others, but I don’t really think of them as these masterpieces (except for maybe the Great Gatsby), but just that they are widely taught, and since they’re widely taught, there are countless resources available for teaching them, whereas more recent books that might seem to have advanced beyond the scope that these books explore don’t have as much a precedent for being taught, don’t have as many available resources to teach them, and don’t have as much of a “settled” opinion on what they mean. So, it’s the English programs.
…that various television shows, along with video games and music, can tell powerful stories that change the lives of those who experience them on the same level, if not better, than books do.
Obviously you’ve allowed for the fact that this is true today, just as it was 70 years ago, when Bradbury originally wrote the book.
I don’t like the book either, but as other people have mentioned, it helps to put it into its historical context. It’s also a good book for teenagers who are just starting to venture into more “serious” literature, for lack of a better word. It’s a good introduction to non-YA dystopian literature that’s still easy to read and follow along.
Personally I love Bradbury’s prose style, it’s almost poetic and extremely descriptive, but because it’s not straightforward it’s certainly confusing at times.
I’ve always loved “A Sound of Thunder” for a smaller bite of his style. The way he described going back in time and the skin of the T Rex are lovely.
Well, it’s Bradbury. Preachy and kinda misogynistic was his thing. It is one of the four major dystopian novels, though—kind of a foundational work through which a lot of people get introduced to the genre. You have to treat it like that (although I personally can’t stand it).
F451, 1984, BNW, what’s the fourth?
Forget the hype, you truly don’t get the book.
It’s not “books good, TV bad”, it’s more “complex, engaging art good, short-engagement art bad”. His wife DOESN’T watch the kind of complex TV shows you describe, she watches the equivalent of tiktok videos.
No book they made us read in school can be that good. It’s like a rule they made so they don’t have a population that realizes it likes reading.
Fahrenheit 451 isn’t particularly great compared against books you’d read for personal enjoyment; but if you had to read it in school, it’s on the top of the heap.