Jon Lymon Reviews Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This was my second attempt at reading Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Not sure what happened first time round, but I couldn’t get into it. But I do nothing if not persevere and second time round, lapped up Tim Robbins’ excellent reading.

If you like dystopian fiction, this is one of the premier examples of works in this category. Bradbury created a world (back in the 1950s) that chimes with the kind of planet we might be in for if the loners trying to push artificial intelligence on everyone and everything get their way.

We have been warned.

Our main man is fireman Guy Montag, whose job isn’t to put out fires but to start them. Namely, to light the touchpaper and destroy books and other sources of written information, as well as the homes and the lives of anyone who attempts to hide hardbacks or paperbacks.

Hauntingly, there’s an eight-legged Mechanical Hound assisting the firemen with their endeavours, and as every good character arc should do, the main character experiences a gradual but wholesale change that sees him question his actions regarding the destruction of knowledge.

It’s a short read, with a thought provoking theme that’ll stay with you long after you’ve finished. The title reflects the temperature at which the paper used to make books catches fire, which is a handy bit of trivia, as is the fact that Bradbury took a matter of days to write his masterpiece.

It’s certainly inspired me to crack on with my dystopian work Dead Headz, which has already taken waaaay longer than Bradbury spent on this masterpiece. Make of that what you will.

But if you’ve already read Orwell or Huxley, make sure this Bradbury work is next on your TBR list.