Reviews

The style seemed a bit different than the other Bradbury short story collections I've read, but I really enjoyed the novella. The mix of despair and hope that Montag faces in an incredibly short amount of time, the final revelation about Fire Captain Beatty, and the extreme escalation of the situation were fascinating. It's super neat that Bradbury's social commentary is still relevant over fifty years later. It makes for a thought-provoking read. I also love the cover of the 60th anniversary edition. It's so pretty!

bobpony's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The last time I read this I think I was in middle school, a long time ago. It's a very imaginative, grim book. It's about the control of thought, the placation of dreams, and a man struggling to recognize what has been done to him. You might find more modern parallels in The Matrix, or The Running Man, or Logan's Run - it's largely a story of rebellion and survival. I enjoyed it, although I often find Bradbury's prose a bit too flowery and indirect. His use of simile and metaphor can become quite abstract, to the point of confusion. Here he also tends to write in first person with an experiential style, leaving it to the reader to suss out what it is he's actually referring to. There was a whole chapter that had my head spinning with descriptions of lights, fireworks, and sounds...what? A few pages later the character finds his wife, again addicted to her television programs projected onto room-sized screens. Oh! That's what we're talking about. That kind of thing. All in all I enjoyed the read, it's surprisingly modern for a vintage tale. But it did leave me wanting a little more flesh on the bones.

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