Buy Book "451° Fahrenheit" in Ukrainian

An old, but no less relevant dystopia depicting a world that has abandoned reading, and at the same time the thinking associated with it. Books are recognized as harmful, and owning them or, even worse, reading them is a crime. These crimes are fought by very specific “law enforcement officers”-firefighters (it is not difficult to guess what fate awaits the books they “get” and how the burning temperature of the paper relates to the title of the book).

I once read this book in Russian, and now I’m re-reading it in translation. It seems to me that today this story is perceived as much more eerie than it was a decade ago: back then, it fascinated me (like Montag) more with the ideas of what a book is in terms of human culture, memory, and its influence on the individual; today, the novel frightens people with “screen walls” and at the same time admires the author’s foresight. However, if we consider that at the time of writing (mid-twentieth century) the author was more concerned with the persecution of dissent-literally burning books-his foresight is rather intuitive, and this makes it even more frightening.

As for the book itself, perhaps it is somewhat naïve and schematic – the realities of the future are painted in broad strokes, not in great detail; but, first, we should keep in mind that the book was written almost 70 years ago and we should not expect modern “spectacular” approaches from it. Secondly, it is still a dystopia, and an unambiguous one at that, so the presentation in the format of a realistic parable, which in itself implies a certain straightforwardness and exaggeration, is quite logical.

In general, the novel definitely belongs to the classic dystopias and is worth reading, although as part of familiarization with the best examples of the genre (along with Orwell and Zamyatin, for me, the list of the best looks like this).

For some reason, I always thought that it was some kind of voluminous novel. This small book, which can be read in one sitting, both impressed and surprised me. It impressed me with what dystopias always do – the coincidence of the fantastic reality of the work with our present. It surprised me with its simplicity, almost naivety. The idea is deep, the meaning is clear, and it is definitely worth reading. However, I can’t say that I experienced any particular shock, that the book “didn’t let go” of me for a long time, or anything else. Perhaps the loud fame of this work played a role-the expectations were too high and did not come true. Perhaps our current reality is too similar to what Bradbury depicts as the future. Perhaps in 1953 such a scenario seemed unbelievable, but today it is perceived as a very likely and not so distant future. We are already seeing signs of this future today, and a thoughtful person can make similar predictions without Bradbury. It would seem that the recognition of our own world in the book should be a shock, but the story is too short and simple, the characters almost sketchy, to really shock. It’s as if it’s just a draft, a test of the pen, a sketch for a later larger novel.

It’s not a book, it’s a miracle! Now I just want some kind of reboot to find strength and inspiration. And this short story made me look at the world with different eyes.

Probably everyone knows that 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper catches fire and burns. This is approximately 232 degrees Celsius. So what does this title have to do with the book?

Imagine living in a world where every written work of art is burned because it is a manifestation of dissent. Why do you need books when you have television? Why do you need knowledge when you can live to your heart’s content? Why do you need to breathe fresh air and enjoy the little things when you can drive a car fast on deserted roads?

The author gives us this dystopia as food for thought. After all, the world is actually moving in the direction of total conformity, and no one wants to contradict this. The book was written in 1951, but it has not lost its relevance even in the 21st century!

I highly recommend reading it. It is short in content and can easily be read in one evening.

Will Books Help Us? Why read books? Why do people read? Why are people forbidden to read something and what is hidden from the crowd?

We will be able to answer these questions after reading this dystopia. And, of course, we will be able to draw parallels between the book and our world. And we will be able to better understand the society we live in and how to get out of the crowd.

“You can close the book and say to it: “Wait. You are its master. But who will snatch you out of its tight claws that hold you captive? It kneads you like clay and molds you to its will…. A book can be defeated by the power of the mind. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never found the strength to fight this symphony orchestra of instruments.”

The moments in which books are burned are described in a cool way, you can feel the tears flowing, your soul falling apart and your heart fluttering. And when you’re reading the book and trying to draw parallels with the world today, you realize that something similar is happening in reality, and that makes the emotions more pronounced.

Fahrenheit 451 is the dystopia that really gave rise to almost the entire genre of all the techniques we see on bookshelves today. And I think it’s worth reading, and you should never watch any film adaptations at all. Because, unfortunately, film adaptations are mostly worse than books, and this can spoil your impression of the book itself. This is not the best book of this genre, but it is one of them.

451° Fahrenheit is a book I’ve always heard about, but for some reason I couldn’t get through it. And finally it happened. And you know, I don’t regret it one bit.

This novel tells how books were destroyed so that people would stop thinking critically and accept only what was beneficial to the top. And the main character finally got tired of it. Why? Because he wanted to think for himself (and almost paid for it with his own life). This ability, given to us by God, must be developed. And for this, you need to read quality books.

So I definitely recommend Bradbury and, in general, reading quality literature. Which, fortunately, we have enough of.