Fahrenheit 451 (graphic novel)

Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation. Ray Bradbury. Illustrated by Tim Hamilton. 2009. July 2009. FSG. 160 pages. 

It was a pleasure to burn. 
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten...
...To see things blackened and changed.

Wow! I loved this one. I just LOVED it. It wasn't my first time reading the novel--though this is the graphic novel adaptation--but it still wowed me.

Montag, our hero, is unhappy with his life. But he hasn't a clue until he meets a young girl, Clarisse, who is 'seventeen and insane.' Through his all too brief friendship with Clarisse, he begins to really look at the world around him, to think about things clearly and deeply, to question himself. Montag is a fireman. He starts fires. He burns books. He hasn't always questioned his life, his choices, but he's questioning everything now. And it is his recent choices--to 'save' books from the fire, to keep books in his own home, to quote poetry--that put his life in danger.

Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won't stomach them for a minute...Remember, Montag, we're the happiness boys. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. (50-1)

 We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? Is that why we're hated so much? Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. God, Millie, don't you see? An hour a day, two hours, with these books, and maybe... (62)

Do you know why books such as this are so important? They have quality. And what does the word quality mean? To me it means texture. This book has pores. It has features...."detail, fresh detail. The good writers touch life often. You see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life." (74)

Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago. Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. (78)

Fahrenheit 451 is a great book. Very intense. Very compelling. I definitely think it's a must read.
I think it adapts quite well to graphic novel format. I enjoyed the art--it was great at helping set the tone. 

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews