Fahrenheit 451 Review

Fahrenheit 451 is a short book by Ray Bradbury. Set in an alternative, dystopian world where most of its citizens are brainwashed into thinking it is their utopia, this book brings a lot to the table.

I did enjoy this book and had a desire to keep reading. But, it was really hard to follow sometimes. One has to keep reading in order to understand what just happened. It’s also not a happy book, a romance book, or even filled with many lovable characters.

One character literally reminded me of Satan. Another was a brainless, technology obsessed person. Another was an easily trusting ex-English professor who was rather nervous but still trusting.

*Spoilers may be present*
And then there is Guy Montag. He is almost childlike—trying to learn and discover new things. He has a terrible wife who is selfish and eventually betrays him.

And there is Clarisse…Clarisse is barely in the book at all. She dies fairly close to the beginning and is just mentioned the rest of the time. Her impact on Montag was very expansive. But yet throughout the book you are left wondering if she is still alive. Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t 100% believe she was dead. Maybe she is, or maybe there is a sequel I must discover. Or maybe I must let my imagination change her fate.

The book itself isn’t long and doesn’t give a lot of time for character development. Montag changes a bit over the course of the story but it isn’t significant because he is starting to become curious very close to the beginning. Maybe Clarisse helps to change him and make him more of a round character. But none of them were overly developed. You knew what you knew about them and they didn’t really change. Faber did trust Montag eventually but it was a very quick change.

Overall, this book would get four out of five stars. It was enjoyable and made good points but rather hard to follow and not the best piece of literature out there.