A review by booksny
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

dark hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really enjoyed this read - I loved the wording used (beautifully lyrical), the dystopian worldbuilding which was sometimes quite prescient (and sometimes not), the thought-provoking messages (some of which I agreed with, some of which I didn't e.g. I'm conscious that Bradbury thought that the major threat to authors was minority groups' political correctness; I reckon that take needs a lot more nuance, especially considering that many contemporary book bans aren't done by or on behalf of minorities), and the fascinating male characters (Beatty was a complicated antagonist).

The female characters were more weakly or antagonistically developed - Clarisse felt like a manic pixie dream girl, whereas Mildred and her friends were representative of everything Montag was fighting against. The manic pixie dream girl portrayal was the main aspect I wasn't as keen on, but I feel that the book's other strong aspects did age well and were enjoyably thought provoking, enough that I'd be happy to reread in the future