Fahrenheit 451

By: Ray Bradbury

Narrated by: Tim Robbins

Length: 5 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of 20th-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future, narrated here by Academy Award-winning actor Tim Robbins.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden. Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television "family". But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television. When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.

©1951 Ray Bradbury (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Critic reviews

"Bradbury's iconic novel about the dangers of complacency and the value of curiosity gains a solid new voice with this audio performance. Tim Robbins puts his acting prowess to use here, creating superb dialogue and striding confidently through powerful speeches that celebrate books and warn against the lure of technology. Protagonist Montag burns with all the earnestness of a man eager for change; Faber's aged scholar simmers with cautious hope; Mildred's vacuous presence echoes emptily. Robbins provides the theatrical with the expected confidence, but he also makes good use of quiet in this production. He makes Bradbury's words even more powerful by remembering to pause at opportune moments to let them sink in." (AudioFile)

Well read classic

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I think anyone and everyone can gain value from reading this book. The most interesting element to me is the date the book was written. It amazes me that the issues facing the author at the time are so relevant today. We live in a society where thought is being assaulted. Political correctness, fear of offense, and acceptance of various lifestyles is changing the dynamic of relationships, speech and thought. Humans are becoming more and more intertwined with technology which can lead people away from pondering and into a faster paced world.

Tim did an excellent job of giving characters interesting voices and keeping the story interesting. This is a book best read when you yourself have time to ponder and consider the implications of the situation in the book. It is best enjoyed when you consider the situation of the real world and see how the book applies.

What other book might you compare Fahrenheit 451 to and why?

George orwell's 1984. Both take place in a dystopian society where the government is large and controlling. Family and thought are restructured and monitored by the government. Both follow a male main character who is secretly rebellious to this organized oppression.

A world without books......

Unlike many others, this was my first time reading this book, so I didn't know what to expect. I thought it was very good and can see why it is considered a classic. Bradbury writes very well, with detailed imagery. The story line of a future where all books are banned in order to prevent individual thoughts was superb; like my other Goodreads/Audible pals, I could not imagine not having my books! One of the most interesting parts of this book was his speculation about what could happen in many cases parallels current society. The things that stick out in this regard are his observations that people don't have time for anyone anymore and that with the advent of technology, people will have to think less and their tasks will become more mindless.

Finished in a Day...

I finished this whole book in a single day - not necessarily because I liked it though...

The book is clearly very symbolic and is about Guy’s struggle to come to terms with his unhappiness and I suppose society’s expectation of him in the dystopian society he lives in. I can very clearly see where a lot of more recent books draw inspiration and because of that this was a little less interesting to me.

The book is very short and I finished it in a day more so because I don’t know that I wouldn’t have been able to slog through it to finish it the next day. The story is a little slow and there are some exciting portions but I wouldn’t say it’s frequent. As an audiobook I think this book struggles as I listen to books more because I want to relax whereas this book tends to require some reflection.

Overall - I don’t regret listening but I do feel this book suffers a bit in audio form. I also personally found some of the voices (particular Beatty and the wives) to be a little aggressive - they kinda drove my perception of the characters a bit more than I would have liked given the book itself.

My favorite book by far!

This is a really good book and the narration makes it better. I love the hard work and effort that went into this book, and the great usage of show not tell. I never had a favorite book before but now I do. :)

Possibly my favorite book of all time.

This is one of those books that everyone needs to read at least once in their lifetime. The themes are timeless and age like a fine wine with each passing year as censorship and revisionist history like the 1619 Project try to, well, rewrite history.
I can't help but be reminded of Beatty's speech to Montag early in the book "Don't step on the toes of the dog-lovers, the cat-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico. The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent any actual painters, cartographers, mechanics anywhere. The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that!"
This sounds like a meta-commentary on cancel culture, despite the fact that this book came out in 1953, and is to this day wholly relevant, arguably even more so than when the book was introduced. This book is a must read for any and all living humans and is easily the best novel I have ever read, just steer clear of the HBO adaptation.

Gripping story

Well narrated.
A book well worth reading today. What happens when the gov’t censors the information you receive? What happens when a war is fought with nuclear weapons?
Annihilation, in both cases. But there is hope, as long as there are those who are willing to risk remembering.

A BOOK FOR ALL TIME

Mr Tim Robbins's narration of Ray Bradbury's most thought provoking book, Fahrenheit 451, was remarkedly well done. Robbins caresses, bends and gently offers up a story which is a delight to the head and the heart. once read in high school, it has stayed with me all these years, but this reading set my heart on fire. Bradbury is a gentle genius which whom we have been blessed.

One of my favorite readings. Please have Robbins read more classics. He is a great actor who loves to read!

A classic story and a great narrator.

Fahrenheit 451 is a classic and this is a great narration. Give this audible a try! It's worth the asking price.

Exceptional Performance of an Exceptional Book

Wow! If you can listen to Tim's performance of this classic Ray Bradbury story and not contemplate the state of your place in society, there is something terribly wrong with you! Frankly and honestly it doesn't get any better than this!!!

Read the book, don't watch the movie!

Never really had a chance to read this when I was younger, but having just listened to the story a while back for the first time I couldn't help but see how many parallels to today's society are present in this work of fiction. People overwhelmed with screens and stimulus, people embracing ignorance, and the world falling down around them.
MUCH, MUCH better of a story than the awful movie HBO put out a few months ago. Considering the story is all about the dangers of historical revisionism, I would've thought they'd have made an effort to keep it true to this version...