Farenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

I read this book when I was a kid. How pleased am I to have just read it again. I thought it was about stopping people from reading books. It’s actually about focussing people on the passive mindless propaganda blaring from the gogglebox. Montag’s a fireman whose job it is to burn books. He meets a young girl, Clarisse, who raises questions in a non-threatening way. Montag rebels and finds a community that has found a way to keep books alive and maintain humanity’s active interest and curiosity. Looking at current behaviours, I’m not sure Ray Bradbury would believe anyone has read his book.