Fahrenheit 451

Out of the three most influential dystopias (at least before "The Handmaid's Tale") I had only ever read "Brave New World". "1984" is still on the agenda, but at least I now know "Fahrenheit 451", Ray Bradbury's brilliant novel about a fireman who stops believing in a society that burns books in order for no one to start original thoughts. There are several things to praise here. First of all the whole concept of turning fire fighters on their head is so smart because it seems so easy. Also Bradbury does not go for wild surprises. Yes, some moments are shocking, but they always seem to occur quite logically. The plot definitely has a lot of ease to it. That doesn't stop Bradbury from finding some strong poetry in his crazy world. And in the end, even though the society he presents is rotten, Bradbury gifts us with a glimmer of optimism - maybe that is naive, but still believing that not all is lost forever, is just a sentiment that resonates with me. Very probably I actually like this one better than "Brave New World" - maybe because it seems so much more probable.

In a society where all sorts of complexity (including books) are removed in order to ensure an uncomplicated, easy and unsophisticated life for everyone, the protagonist Guy Montag discovers the significance of trusting your own mind. This story showcases the importance there is to books and literary and the ability to form your own opinion. It demonstrates how easily we can be influenced when there is only one side presented to us and how easily we are prone to give up control.

“That's the wonderful thing about man; he never gets so discouraged or disgusted that he gives up doing it all over again, because he knows very well it is important and WORTH the doing.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 History repeats itself. Even over the course of just the last century so many book burnings took place. The Nazis burned books deemed 'degenerate' by Jewish authors and others (1933). In New York State 2000 comic books were burned overseen by teachers and parents (1948). The National Library of Bosnia in sarajevo (one of the most important collections of islamic manuscripts) was deliberately burned down by Serb nationalist forces (1992). And last but not least (I bet there are more but these are the ones I found) 6000 books of homoerotic poetry by Abu Nawas burned by fundamentalists and various Harry Potter book burnings by Christian groups in the US in New Mexico and Iowa (All in 2001) And because history is repeated, it is a necessity to be aware, of what has already been done and to detect dangerous paths into the future. It is important and worth doing to protect literature and the freedom of thought! One rarely sees such foresight in literature. Especially concerning the development of modern media. I'm deeply impressed. This book is still very relevant today and a must read to me.