Book review: 'Fahrenheit 451' by Ray Bradbury (1953)
28 Sept 2025
The last one for now in my dystopian books spree. The premise seemed really interesting to me and I really loved the story, even though it was quite simple and the writing not amazing, I really liked the fast pace and uncomplicatedness of the story. Guy Montag's existential crisis about the world he lives in was just so cathartic to read. He feels like either he must be crazy or everyone around him is and to be honest in the end you're still not really sure, he makes some really weird and desperate decisions, dumb even but that makes him all the more likeable and realistic to me.
I really like how the author was able to capture his desperation. He is so flawed, but I don't dislike him for it, on the contrary it makes him more human and I was really rooting for him. I feel like no one would do better in his situation. His wife is a husk of a person, he makes a living by destroying people's property and lives basically, the cognitive dissonance feels very real and suffocating.
I would have liked Clarisse to have stayed a little longer, I thought it was really interesting how she was like a catalyst to Guy's 'awakening', but it felt like she was ripped away from the story too soon. But then again, that was another one of the stepping stones for him to start reading, one day she was there opening his eyes to all kinds of things, the next she was gone and no one cared.
And again I really like the type of antagonist that dystopian novels provide, Beatty in this case. A person that is 'in the know' but chooses to conform. Despite the fact that Beatty is the most well-read out of almost all the characters that we get to know in the book he still does what he does, or more interestingly, maybe because of it. Mustapha Mond in Brave New World, The Benefactor in We, O'Brien in 1984 all have this in common somewhat. Someone that used to be like our protagonist (and like us to an extent) and that we relate to, but even they are a part of the machine and even worse they enable it to exist. It really gives the feeling of hopelessness for our protagonist, as if it's saying 'see, I was you, it's easier if you just give in'.
One of my favourite parts about the book was probably Guy's wife Mildred. From the fact that they can't remember where or how they met and how little she cared about that, to the confusing 'family' she keeps talking about which is just TV programs personalized to say the viewer's name and her suicide attempt which she completely forgot about and rejected the day after, and the part with her friends talking about nonsense and humouring Guy, those passages were just really fun and eratic. I definitely recommend the book though I do want to say that the pace is fast, the story is uncomplicated and the writing isn't perfect, but a very fun read.