“A masterpiece . . . A glorious American classic everyone should read: It’s life-changing if you read it as a teen, and still stunning when you reread it as an adult.”

 

NO MAJOR SPOILERS

You know those books that are on your ‘to be read’ for an age and they never seem to make it to the top? Well, I’ve been meaning to read Fahrenheit 451 since forever and last month I finally decided to knuckle down and get it read.

I love dystopia and I’d heard such good things, I was excited once I started and I’m pleased to say it didn’t disappoint.

I’ve heard Bradbury’s style called lots of things including poetic, and while I see where that description comes from it makes him sound wordy, which he clearly isn’t. Beautiful and descriptive yet to the point, you fall right into Bradbury’s world where people just don’t want to learn any more.

The depiction of this alternate American is scarily ‘on point’ to coin a current term making a believable and frightening world. Fahrenheit 451 takes us not to some scary alternate fantasy world, but just half a step outside our own reality, in this astute visualisation.

If you love to read, and you adore books expect to have your heart broken in what is one of the most quotable novels I have ever read.

About half way through I started to wonder just where this was going, and it becomes pretty fast paced towards the end. In the end, I thought the finale fell a little flat, but that doesn’t take away from this novel’s brilliance, and I’m certainly not sorry I read it!

I loved it so much I picked up a selection of short stories by the same author, and I’m glad to say I’m enjoying those just as much.

 

Reviewed by:

Kath Cross

Added 13th September 2015

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Kath Cross