This is the first installment of the little nostalgia trip I've been on lately.It's been a long time since I first picked this book up in junior high for a book report, but the years have not changed the impact it has on me.
If anything, this book had a more profound effect on me this time around, because I'm older and can see deeper into it. It's almost chilling when you look around at the world we live in now and compare it to the world of this book. The low price we put on human life and the gradual disappearance of some personal rights play right into the plot of this book, and I know that when I turn on the television, a lot of the programs I see remind me an awful lot of the "family".
Another thing that really brought the similarities home was a discussion I had online with someone about the book while I was re-reading it. The person told me he felt the book was boring and not worth the paper it was printed on. When I asked the person to elaborate, I was told that it needed more action. What this person described as how the book should have been presented was basically like a television show. At first I was amused that the person had completely missed the point, then after some thought it kind of scared me.
Some of the things in this book just sent a chill down my spine that wasn't there the first time around. That's not to say I think we are, or will ever be, in a society like the one Bradbury envisions, but still it's definitely something worth thinking about.
This book should be required reading for everyone.
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