What one single element during the creation of a book keeps writers awake tossing and turning? The opening sentence. A truly magnificent opening line can capture a generation, stop time, and teleport the reader deep into the life of the book. Herman Melville began his masterpiece “Moby Dick” with the now infamous line “Call me Ishmael,” and Ralph Ellison began his work of art with the sentence “I am an invisible man.” Ray Bradbury joins the ranks of authors who have achieved this feat with the opening line of “Fahrenheit 451” being: “It was a pleasure to burn.” Chilling, right? The book is divided into four parts: part one, part two, part three, and the afterword. Having finished the entirety of the first part, I find the book becoming more ensnaring.
“Fahrenheit 451” is banned in many communities due to profanity, the burning of a bible, and one of the main themes of the story being a government which tries to suppress freedom of expression and speech.
Admittedly I find it hard to bypass the genius of a book about censorship, which is itself, is banned and censored. Was this Bradbury's mad plan? Or perhaps an instance where irony won the day? Nevertheless, the technical details of this novel so far are pristine, and I have noticed the, what seems to be deliberate use of 'cold' adjectives. I haven't figured out why yet, but perhaps tomorrow I will know. I also know there must be something behind the character Clarisse McClellan, again, perhaps tomorrow I will know exactly what Bradbury intended that something to be. It is a very dark novel about the all consuming element of fire, which means...
A thought for the evening:
People who live in glass houses should not throw books, but if they must let it be paperbacks.
- BookBender
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