Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Started: 1 January 2022
Finished: 5 January 2022
Ray Bradbury called our 2020s culture wars in 1951. Well, sort of. There’s definitely language in this book that hasn’t aged well, because like all books, it is a product of it’s time. And the 2020s are a far different place from the 1950s. Sort of.
This is a re-read for me; at least I think it is. In 2005, I chose Ray Bradbury as an author to study in school (you go ahead and guess what grade I was in then all by yourself, I’m not helping). I know I read The Martian Chronicles, and I’m pretty sure I would have picked up Fahrenheit. In any case, I don’t remember much from my first reading, and this book certainly hits different 17 years later.
I’m not sure why I’m on a classic dystopian streak. First Parable of the Sower, now Fahrenheit 451. I don’t think I’ll re-read 1984, but, who knows? I’m 60 pages in writing these comments, and even though it’s dated, some of the commentary is strikingly on-the-nose.
After finishing the book, what Bradbury doesn’t quite get right is the resilience of books. Maybe it’s just the prevalence of social media like BookTok and BookTube and Book Twitter, but, you don’t have to look hard to find readers these days. Even with so much media available, people are still choosing to pick up (or listen to) books! I think we can be hopeful about that, at least, as we start of 2022.
2022 Reads
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury