How-To Be A Good Fireman

Fahrenheit 451: the temperature at which book paper catches fire and burns
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

 I have wanted to review this book on my blog for quite some time but it meant that I would have to come back to it once more. Fahrenheit 451 causes very mixed feelings in me. I hate it because it’s so twisted that in this dystopian, the  job of the firemen is to burn books. Burn books. Because they are forbidden as they are the source of discord and unhappiness.

Yes, and at same time I love F451. Yes, they burn the books but why do they burn them. What is the message it delivers. Do we have any hope left in the world we live in now?

When I first read this novel, I lived in my happy-pink-book-reading-bubble where I did not check what is the book all about on internet and was too young to hear of these great classics in school…which was good. I had just discovered the whole sci-fi genre and I  thought Fahrenheit 451 would be something closer to Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles or ‘The Illustrated Man’, maybe in some sense, I even expected something more similar to the style of Philip K. Dick. It wasn’t.

“If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn.”  ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

I’d give this book 9/10

How-To Read Fahrenheit 451

1. It’s so very short. Reading this novel will hardly take you any time at all.  Like less than 200 pages and yet this book makes you feel much more and express yourself  much more than so many other (longer) books.
2. Maybe you’ll think twice when you have a conflict whether to read a book or to watch tv after reading F451.
3. Not suitable for pyromans.
4. How Western civilization is enslaved by the media, drugs and conformity… is this is so far from reality?
5. Oh, did I mention that they burn books? Because they supposedly make folks unhappy?  It’s heart-breaking. I do not recommend this book for bookishly over sensitive bookworms.

“There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.”
― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Post Scriptum
No books were harmed in making this blog post.

Buy Fahrenheit 451: A Novel on Amazon

36 thoughts on “How-To Be A Good Fireman

  1. Love Ray Bradbury! This was my first of his books, also back when I was pretty vulnerable and ignorant of many of the classics. Fahrenheit 451 was one of those books that made me angry, but in a good way–it makes me want to protect the precious privilege we have to read and own books. Great review! :D

    1. Haha, that’s good description: vulnerable and ignorant and oh what did he did to that. It was good kind of anger though it amuses me as the book was short. Thanks for commenting ^^

    1. :) Hope you will read it soon.
      I agree! They should have written in the back cover of the book ‘bookworm horror’ or something o.O It’s scary though like Bradbury said ”You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
      That’s even worse

  2. Love Ray Bradbury! This was my first of his books, also back when I was pretty vulnerable and ignorant of many of the classics. Fahrenheit 451 was one of those books that made me angry, but in a good way–it makes me want to protect the precious privilege we have to read and own books. Great review! :D

    1. Haha, that’s good description: vulnerable and ignorant and oh what did he did to that. It was good kind of anger though it amuses me as the book was short. Thanks for commenting ^^

    1. :) Hope you will read it soon.
      I agree! They should have written in the back cover of the book ‘bookworm horror’ or something o.O It’s scary though like Bradbury said ”You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”
      That’s even worse

  3. Great great great book (did I say great?) and awesome review! It’s one of my favorite, I loved reading it again! And most of all I liked the profoundness of the characters, the firemen most of all. Not just the protagonist, also the captain fireman always leaves me at a loss of words… :)

    1. :D Thank you! It is indeed a great great great book ^^ Hmmm Beatty was interesting case and Guy’s wife o.O but I wasn’t that thrilled by the characters, more of the plot/journey.Have you read his other books? ^^

  4. Great great great book (did I say great?) and awesome review! It’s one of my favorite, I loved reading it again! And most of all I liked the profoundness of the characters, the firemen most of all. Not just the protagonist, also the captain fireman always leaves me at a loss of words… :)

    1. :D Thank you! It is indeed a great great great book ^^ Hmmm Beatty was interesting case and Guy’s wife o.O but I wasn’t that thrilled by the characters, more of the plot/journey.Have you read his other books? ^^

  5. I need to read this badly! It’s one of those classics which everyone seems to have read!
    I saw it on sale on the Folio Society site,considered it but in the end didn’t buy it.It hasn’t been discounted since then!
    Next time it goes on sale,I’ll try to get it.
    And if you like this book that much,I suggest you check out Sam Weber’s illustrations!! They are utterly mind-blowing.

    Oh,and a little bit of information! Bradbury actually called the local fire station and asked at what temperature does paper burn.He received the answer Fahrenheit 451 and that’s how he got the title of his book! Crazy guy!

    1. It’s kind of funny that you know more of the background than me and you haven’t read it :D Some say it was celsius though and not fahrenheit. Oh shh about Folio Society…it’s a horrible website filled with way too beautiful books… Hope you’ll find it though :)
      Somewhere I saw his illustrations…they were amazing

  6. I need to read this badly! It’s one of those classics which everyone seems to have read!
    I saw it on sale on the Folio Society site,considered it but in the end didn’t buy it.It hasn’t been discounted since then!
    Next time it goes on sale,I’ll try to get it.
    And if you like this book that much,I suggest you check out Sam Weber’s illustrations!! They are utterly mind-blowing.

    Oh,and a little bit of information! Bradbury actually called the local fire station and asked at what temperature does paper burn.He received the answer Fahrenheit 451 and that’s how he got the title of his book! Crazy guy!

    1. It’s kind of funny that you know more of the background than me and you haven’t read it :D Some say it was celsius though and not fahrenheit. Oh shh about Folio Society…it’s a horrible website filled with way too beautiful books… Hope you’ll find it though :)
      Somewhere I saw his illustrations…they were amazing

  7. One of my favorite books from one of my Top 5 authors. Even in the world of the internet, there are many who try to censor books, news, etc. which is why this book has become not so fictional. A great companion to books like 1984 and A Brave New World.

  8. One of my favorite books from one of my Top 5 authors. Even in the world of the internet, there are many who try to censor books, news, etc. which is why this book has become not so fictional. A great companion to books like 1984 and A Brave New World.

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