Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury was written in the 1950s about the future. Guy Montag is a fireman, but rather than put out fires, he sets them. Montag's job is to burn books and the homes where they are found. In this distopian society, the government's will is for everyone to be and stay happy all the time. In order for this to happen, all books have been deemed illegal - they wouldn't want anyone getting any ideas or thinking for themselves! Montag's life is turned upside down after meeting a strange girl, Clarisse, who talks with him about things no one else has ever mentioned. His life is further changed when he ends up burning a woman along with her books and home. Things escalate for Montag when his employers find out that he's been hiding and reading books.I read this book as a part of a book club set up for my daughter's Honors English summer reading. I really enjoyed it. The discussions prompted by the ideas of censorship, technology, conformity and ignorance were really interesting. I read The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury when I was in high school, but I don't think I got as much out of it as the girls reading Fahrenheit 451.
