Rereading Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. 1953/2003. Random House. 190 pages.

It was a pleasure to burn. 

I first read and reviewed Fahrenheit 451 in May 2007. I then read the graphic novel in October 2010. I couldn't resist reading the "real" book at that time as well. I even sought out A Pleasure to Burn, a collection of stories that traces Bradbury's developing themes. That collection included two crucial stories: "The Fireman" and "Long After Midnight." (Also I watched the movie.) The summer of 2012, I read tons of Ray Bradbury, and, of course, I had to reread Fahrenheit 451!

I definitely consider Fahrenheit 451 one of the rare must-reads. It is intense and thought-provoking. The novel, as a whole, is powerful. But it is in conversation (or dialogue) that this one truly shines. Guy Montag's conversations with Clarisse, with Faber, and to some extent even his boss and wife. It's a very reflective novel as well. In its pages, readers get a glimpse of a man at his most vulnerable: a self awakening of sorts as a man wakes up to the nightmare world in which he's been a part of all along.

Favorite quotes:

Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won't stomach them for a minute...Remember, Montag, we're the happiness boys. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. (50-1)  

 We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? Is that why we're hated so much? Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. God, Millie, don't you see? An hour a day, two hours, with these books, and maybe... (62)

Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago. Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. (78)

 It’s been a long time. I’m not a religious man. But it’s been a long time.’ Faber turned the pages, stopping here and there to read. ‘It’s as good as I remember. Lord, how they’ve changed it in our parlors these days. Christ is one of the family now. I often wonder if God recognizes His own son the way we’ve dressed him up, or is it dressed him down? He’s a regular peppermint stick now, all sugar-crystal and saccharine when he isn’t making veiled references to certain commercial products that every worshiper absolutely needs.’ (81)

Do you know why books such as this are so important? Because they have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features. This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition, anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leave her for the flies. So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless. We are living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam. (83)

Though this one is "about" books, in a way, it is not. It is about the ideas, emotions, concepts behind the books. It is about the knowledge and wisdom sometimes contained in books, but never exclusively found in books. It is about choices and lifestyles. The nightmarish culture found in Fahrenheit 451 is a result of people choosing to be shallow, selfish, materialistic, technology-obsessed, and pleasure-seeking. People are "happy." But their "happiness" is fake. It comes at the cost of suppressing emotion and intellect. Free thinking is not encouraged. Thoughts shouldn't have depth and substance! One shouldn't ponder, consider, or reflect! It's about lives packed with noise and busyness--a blur of distractions--all designed to keep you from realizing there is something more, something that has been lost.

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Wool Omnibus Edition (2013)

Wool (Omnibus Edition, Wool 1-5). Hugh Howey. 2013. Simon & Schuster. 508 pages. [Source: Library]

The children were playing while Holston climbed to his death; he could hear them squealing as only happy children do. While they thundered about frantically above, Holston took his time, each step methodical and ponderous, as he wound his way around and around the spiral staircase, old boots ringing out on metal treads. 

After seeing Seth's review of Wool, I knew I HAD to read this book. It had me at hello. The first story "Wool" had me hooked. It was so very, very good! So incredibly compelling! And the other sections kept me hooked, kept me reading. It was so hard to put this one down. I just loved spending time with it. It was uncomfortable in places because the action was intense and one didn't know what the outcome would be, but that is a good thing. It showed I CARED about the characters.

The world-building in this novel is amazing. So well-done, so well-crafted. It felt genuine too; readers are shown what life is like in the silo; sometimes in dystopian novels, the emphasis is on the telling.

In the first story, "Wool," readers meet Sheriff Holston and learn of his wife, Allison. A few years before the novel begins, Allison learned something: something big, something secret. She thought she had all the answers. This knowledge made her appear quite mad to most. It led her to do something illegal: ask to go outside the silo. To ask such a thing clearly shows your insane. The only fit punishment is to send the person outside--in a well-protected environmental suit. The punishment also includes CLEANING the lenses; after a cleaning, those who want can look outside at the barren world...if they're willing to climb all those stairs! Most born in the lower levels (there are 149 levels, I believe) don't ever go journeying that far. After two years of mourning his wife, he thinks he has learned his wife's secret knowledge. He's prepared to follow her now...

In the four subsequent sections, readers meet several key characters. The deputy that served under Holston, the mayor of the Silo, the head of the IT department, etc. Most importantly they meet Juliette, a young mechanic working and living on one of the lowest levels. She has zero interest in being sheriff. But those in power (well, excepting Bernard from IT) have confidence that she'll do a fine job. (Bernard wants his own pick to get the job.) Juliette accepts the job, but it soon proves extremely challenging and very dangerous! It doesn't take readers long to see the power is corrupted. Readers meet a handful of characters from various levels, and the story as a whole is very compelling.

The writing, the characterizations, the way relationships were handled, everything felt just right about this science fiction novel. If you enjoy dystopian novels, post-apocalyptic novels, OR mystery novels, then this one is a must! 

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews

Earth Afire (2013)

Earth Afire. Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston. (The First Formic War) 2013. Tor. 400 pages. [Source: Library]

Earth Afire is the sequel to Earth Unaware. I described the first book as something to be experienced instead of (merely) read. The second book is similar. It almost is too much of an experience to be considered enjoyable. It is so intense and so raw.

It is told from multiple view points: Bingwen (a young, intelligent Chinese boy who BELIEVES the vids posted about the aliens are real), Mazer (who is transferred along with his team from New Zealand to China), Victor (who risked it all to reach Luna in time to warn Earth and has sadly been disbelieved for the most part) Rena (Victor's mother who is tasked with keeping the women and children of El Calvador together no matter what), and Lem Jukes (who has changed so much since book one; he's now on a mission to stop the aliens). The aliens are coming--coming quickly. A handful of people know the truth, know the danger, it is just a matter of convincing people that it IS true and that SOMETHING should be done. Sound easy? It's not. For there are so many people--politicians, business men, and military leaders--who do NOT want to face reality that they will do anything to stop the truth from being believed and acted upon.

By the halfway point, the aliens are undeniably here and hostile. What will Earth do? Will there be a fractured effort to stop the aliens? Will the governments on Earth ever learn to work together? Can the aliens even be stopped?

I definitely felt this one. I cared about the characters and the story. My favorite new character was definitely Bingwen, those sections were something. I loved getting the chance to know Mazer Rackham better.

© 2013 SukaYuka.com of SukaYuka's Book Reviews