A very nice review of FAHRENHEIT 451, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary, appeared in yesterday's Chicago Sun Times newspaper. In case anyone would like to read it, you can access the article by clicking on the following link:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/books/sho-sunday-bradbury07a.html

Richard,

Thanks for the link. Great review and nice excerpt from the novel. I'd forgotten what a brilliant piece of work it is. And I was especially glad to see the reviewer avoid the trap of making the by now cliched connection to John Ashcroft and the Patriot Act. As Bradbury points out in the article's excerpt from F451, the book burnings came from the people.

Pete

It is a good read. Definitely worth the time. Thanks for posting it.

Richard:
This weekend I chose not to buy a Sunday edition of Sun -Times, and Lo, now on Monday night I discover a need to find a copy of the Sun-Times, to which I say "Good Luck."

It's a mammoth thought, a thrill, to know that this book will propel thru the future with readers clinging to it like onto the side of the Noah's Ark...as the world may well flood itself away in torrents of simple ideas. Housed inside this book is a freedom of expression, but I believe foreign to what is contemporarily taken place on this planet. There is a decency thruout its pages, which has lost its meaning nowadays. But it is THAT decency which vibrates inside of the reader. If he be callous as stone, he will burn it 'by chance' , as it were, of always looking the other way wherever it may happen to be...

Ray Shakespeare, or is it William Bradbury?

The arrival of Clarisse that would change Montag's life:
"The autumn leaves blew over the moonlit pavement in such a way as to make the girl there seem fixed to a sliding sidewalk, letting the motion of the wind and the leaves carry her forward. ...Her face was slender and milk white, and in it was a kind of hunger that touched everything with a tireless curiosity."
(F451, RB, p. 5, Del Rey)

The arrival of Juliet for the marriage that would change the young lovers' lives:
"Here comes the lady. O, so light a foot
Will ne'er wear out the everlasting flint.
A lover may bestride the gossamer
That idles in the wanton summer air,
And yet not fall: so light is vanity."
(R&J, WS, Act II, sc. vi)



[This message has been edited by fjpalumbo (edited 09-18-2003).]

Thanks. Loved the // to Shakespeare. Just reading Bradbury's words again is more than enough. They say it all. Sheer poetry.

ooo dont ruin it Im still reading

The famous Coda (1979) seems to glow even brighter today than when it was written - now nearly 25yrs ago. For those who have not read it, take a few minutes here: http://www.uta.edu/english/V/students/collab5/bradbury.htm

I've read this before, but I really enjoyed reading it again. Even when Ray is ranting, he does it beautifully--so poetically, I often stop and reread certain phrases and sentences that just catch me in a certain way. I printed out a copy this time to save for my "All Things Ray" file. Thanks, fjpalumbo for the great article!

Newer interview with RB about 451. Most is well known, but some tidbits of new info.
http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031226/NEWS/312260305/1004

A mediocre film with a brilliant ending.
It's funny, because it's true.