I LOVE 451, it still remains my favourite, but though, shouldn't Clarisse have survived? It would have been another great Phoenix-reference, literally rising from the Dead.

See my answer in the Fahrenheit 451 thread under the Favorite Book/Story header. To which I'd add: the line about Clarisse being run over by someone delayed a matter of seconds at a stoplight "on his way from nowhere, to nowhere" is one of the best lines in the book which I always quote when I see some idiot driving like a maniac. It would be great if some way could be found for it to appear that she died, and still include this line in the book, but at the end reveal her to be alive--that would elevate it from the near-perfect work it is now to perfect! I know Bradbury is quoted as having said she should have lived but don't know if this detail appears in any of the introductions or afterwords he wrote to different editions.

[This message has been edited by dandelion (edited 04-11-2003).]