the other book review » bradbury

my five favorites — classics

eb — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:30:27 +0000

Another list of favorites. This time the classics have their turn.
I have restricted myself to choosing five, but really…that is not enough, I know. Still, for the sake of not making my list two whole pages, here are my picks.

1. Pride and prejudice — Jane Austen: who doesn’t know the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy? The best love story of all times.

2. Rebecca — Daphne du Maurier: a haunting story with a twist of two women struggling for the attention of one man.

3. To kill a mockingbird — Harper Lee: a classic coming-of-age story and courtroom drama.

4. We have always lived in the castle — Shirley Jackson: a suspenseful story of a doomed family.

5. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury: a compelling story in a world where books are illegal.

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fahrenheit 451 — ray bradbury

eb — Tue, 01 May 2007 08:43:28 +0000

Guy Montag is a fireman; not a fireman that extinguishes fires, but one that ignites them. He lives in a time (somewhere in the future) when having books is illegal. When the people who own them are found out, the fire brigade is being called to burn down the house together with the books. Guy is happy with his job until on one call a woman refuses to leave her books and burns together with them. On that occasion Guy grabs a book with him; there must be something in books if people don’t want to leave them even when that means their death. From that moment on his entire life turns upside down and he has to make some difficult choices and decisions.

This is one of those books that you can’t put down the moment you pick it up for the first time. It is also a book that leaves a mark. Even when you finished the book the story stays in your system. You just have to think about it. It’s the kind of book Guy Montag definitely had to burn. It is a compelling story with a clear message: a true classic.

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burning books

eb — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:48:48 +0000

A couple of days ago I started the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. A classic I didn’t know about until I saw it in a German bookstore for a good price. And although the genre is described as science fiction, I couldn’t resist buying it; mainly because of the theme of the book: burning books. The time in the book is set in the future when firemen don’t put out fires, but start them, in the name of the government, in houses of people who own English books. Why exactly I don’t know yet, I’m just not that far in the book, but only the fact that people aren’t allowed to own books is intriguing me. I can’t imagine a world without books. What would happen if I’m not allowed to ever read a book again, not being permitted to own any books? Could I live with that? Would I have the guts to own my books illegally in a hidden basement or attic?
I know of the book burnings during WW II, and I do think that books can help in forming certain ideas and ideals, but I don’t think books can be that dangerous that they have to be forbidden. The burning of books says more about the ones that order it, then about the books themselves. Why should you be afraid of books when you have nothing to hide, or when you believe in people?
Well, as you notice, books help you ponder about things, big things, small things. Books help you escape from reality and get your imagination going for as long as you like.
I just love books!

P.S. Just a short quote from Fahrenheit 451: ‘There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.’ (page 58 in my edition from Voyager)

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