I taught this book for many years to my sophomores, and even they found it disturbingly true for our times. Technology seems to be the dominant presence in our lives -- and what about books? They are not being burned (well, maybe in some places), but the actual, physical book is disappearing. This book is a MUST READ -- and remember, it was written a long time ago. What has happened to front porches?? And what about people who just want to think??
From Leslie Backus...
ReplyDeleteThis is a quote from an interview with Ray Bradbury about his being a fantasy writer more than a science fiction writer:
"First of all, I don't write science fiction. I've only done one science fiction book and that's Fahrenheit 451, based on reality. It was named so to represent the temperature at which paper ignites. Science fiction is a depiction of the real. Fantasy is a depiction of the unreal. So Martian Chronicles is not science fiction, it's fantasy. It couldn't happen, you see?"
Thought you'd find it interesting.
les
I can't believe this book was written sixty years ago! It's practically prophetic. I can see why English curricula like it. :) I sort of wish they'd had us read this in school instead of Heart of Darkness...
ReplyDeleteIronically, I didn't read a burnable copy of this book...it's the first book I downloaded to my brand new smart phone! What does that say about the state of technology these days? Meanwhile, technology does make it infinitely harder to hide information and knowledge. It's all out there and retrievable somehow.
But it also means that everyone wants things faster. And because they want it faster, information gets condensed into little tidbits (a la Twitter) and no one ever gets the full story. This is my problem with current politics, actually.
It was a fascinating book! Audrey has to teach it in school next year and I sort of want to sit in her class! :)