Fahrenheit 451
"Stuff your eyes with wonder.... live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories."
Another dystopian novel that's relevency is more important in our current age than ever before. Fahrenheit 451 is lauded as one of the best dystopian science fiction novels ever written. It's one I never got the opportunity to read in high school nor university but had heard about from nearly every bookworm I talked to. It's on the Rory Gilmore Reading List and one of the choices from that list that I determined to read in 2019. Censorship and book burnings are the main theme, one of the two which is happening everywhere today (no more "Baby It's Cold Outside"? Gimme a break!) and another that doesn't seem too far off (catholic schools banning Harry Potter because it's "evil"? ffs).
Set in a dystopian America that doesn't seem too far in the future where books are outlawed and firemen are the ones that start the fires, not put them out. People's houses and lives are burned down if they are discovered to be in posession of even a single book. One woman even chooses to burn with her books rather than live a life of ignorance. The people in this world are stupid and vapid and shallow and none of them think for themselves. They watch mindless TV shows at all hours of the day. They take up entire walls of their house with TV's so it can seem like they are living life along with the families that they watch every day. The banning of books has dummed down the population enough to control them completely.
Books are knowledge and knowledge is power and you can't allow people to have this kind of power if you want complete control. But there are a few that remember the lessons that books taught and the importance of keeping that knowledge alive. The protaganist, Guy Montag, a fireman, falls onto this side of the line, he's spent his life burning books but has awakened from his mindless obedience and discovered the glory of books for himself leading to the end of everything he's ever known.
The relevance of this book comes into play early on. Montag's wife, Mildred, spends her entire day watching her fake family, comparing her life to theirs and living in a world that isn't real. Sound familiar? How much time do we ourselves spend in a day on our phones? We are always, always, always on social media comparing our lives to everyone else's, scrolling through mindless posts, binging television shows instead of going out with friends. [I know I'm guilty of it, I even read less than I did when I was younger because I get distracted by my phone, I have to leave it in the other room so I can properly lose myself in a book] Mildred also has suicidal tendencies, living a shadow of a life through her TV family has made her lonely and desperate for an escape, similar to the effect social media has proven to have on our mental health. We may not sit staring at our wall TV's with earbuds in pretending to be part of a fake family, but we walk bent-necked like zombies hovering over our phones.
I really enjoyed this novel, it was well written, had the right amount of plot twists, short enough to get to the point quickly. The only thing that bugs me is Clarisse's fate. There was no closure there, her presence in the book was so short and so quick yet had such a powerful effect on Montag's view of life. I wish there was more to that piece of the story.
It was eye-opening the realizations of how similar some of the situations this dystopian world is to our world today. I think everyone needs to read this book right now, if you haven't before, now is the perfect time, if you've already read it, now's the time for a re-read.
Definitely a 5 star read!
So go forth, put down your phone, pick up this book, lose yourself in it, share it with your friends and family and then spend a fun evening discussing it and all the thoughts you had while reading it with them. Get into lively debates, reminisce on your favorite quotes and see how enjoyable life can be when you aren't constantly overloaded with facebook posts and angry tweets and the pressure to take the perfect insta pic.
P.S. Canadian Happy Thanksgiving!