Author: Ray Bradbury
Genre: Dystopian / Sci-fi
Published by: Harper Collins
Originally Published: 1953
Page Count: 211
Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down these dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books.
(Source: Goodreads)
I've wanted to read this book for a long time. Mesmerised by its beautiful cover and interesting premise it's been a book I've wanted to own since I heard about it.
The characters in this book are fascinating, while I would argue there is too much detachment from the characters, they still upheld my interest. Montag is a fascinating protagonist, he questions things, his constant paranoia, and his relationships with other characters were interesting. His wife, Mildred, epitomised the typical person that this dystopian world was trying to create, someone who didn't ask questions, someone who absorbed themselves in the world around them. While, the station's chief was also brilliantly written, there was an element of unhingedness that kept me reading.
The writing was beautiful, it'd be kind of insulting to call it prose due to its poetic nature. It felt rather bizarre to read such a beautiful book in which the characters were actively trying to destroy such a medium of expression. Sometimes I felt the novel didn't quite attain the balance of speech and thought/description, it seemed rather long-winded in its attempts to describe a situation, but juxtaposed to this it also had scenes that were abrupt, which I believe were completely the author's intent, though it still threw me a little bit.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience reading this. It didn't live completely up to expectations, but what does? A modern classic that has given me the drive to finally attempt George Orwell's 1984. ★★★★☆
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