I knew the context behind 1984. BNW, '84, and F451 all came out around the same time and obviously the authors each saw the world in a different way from us. But the world didn't turn out how they feared and isn't treading that way. So their pessimistic world view is a little melodramatic and I don't think the books are really relevant anymore. I tend to like books that focus more on personal experience and relationships so those books are off putting.globefish23 wrote:
I haven't read Brave New World yet, but I definitely liked Fahrenheit 451 much better than 1984.SuperJail Warden wrote:
I finished Fahrenheit 451 a few minutes ago and really disliked it. [...]
I fully completed 1984 and Brave New World, and didn't find those very good either. These are the big three dystopian novels and I have to say the genre either isn't for me or pretty lame. Fahrenheit 451 was the worst of the 3. The world did not seem very dystopian outside of the banning of books. The suggestion that books were banned because of political correctness rubbed me the wrong way too. The protagonist was pretty dull also.
1984 was heavily influenced by George Orwell's apparent disgust of Communism/Stalinism.
Everything in the book felt like a dirty, poor Eastern European or ex-GDR plattenbau.
Basically a stereotype of the worst stuff.
Fahrenheit 451 was a much more sci-fi story, sprinkled with more subtle dystopian dismay.
I like that Ray Bradbury nicely predicted wall-sized flatscreens, smartphones/tablets and autonomous robots.
The latter being a hunter-killer mechanical dog that kills with neurotoxin.
That, combined with fascist, Nazi-type bookburning and persecution, and the weird, contradictory "fire brigade", made a much more depressing dystopian scenario for me.
One that has become more valid over the past decades since the real year 1984.
Also, I accounted Guy Montag's dull appearance to the fascist group he is working with as his job, and to the dull, media-brainwashed society.
His wife watching mindless "interactive" TV soap-operas all day being sort of a foreshadowing of modern day "social media".
Note:
Do not watch François Truffaut's 1966 film adaptation of the book.
Neither before or afterwards, or it will truly disrupt any sci-fi or dystopian feeling you'll get, with some weird hippie acting and lame dialog.
Needless to say any of the sci-fi technologies from the book have been cut completely.
A proposed new adaptation by Frank Darabont has been in limbo for over a decade now.
You might be right about the dullness. That would make sense.
I finished Breakfast of champions Friday. I mostly liked it fell apart the last 20% of the way once the author put himself in the story. Still am not crazy about Kurt's style and that didn't help.
I bought a few short novels of Harkumi Murakami after I finished his small short story collection. I finished After Dark yesterday. I really liked it and look forward to the other books.
What have you read lately, globe?
