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Fahrenheit 451
- Narrated by: Tim Robbins
- Length: 5 hrs and 1 min
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Editor reviews
Editors Select, October 2014 - I credit Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 as one of the books that sparked my love of reading, and now that I'm an avid listener, I'm excited to be able to experience the story anew with Academy Award-winner Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption) narrating. Robbins' tone expertly mirrors the story's narrative – shifting effortlessly from somber and contemplative to suspenseful and terrifying. Each character, from the rebellious protagonist Guy Montag, to the enigmatic Clarisse McClellan, to the gruff Captain Beatty is distinct and realistic, making this frightening future seem all the more possible. Whether you enjoyed the book in a high school English class or never quite got around to it, every book lover should experience this poignant version of a dystopian classic.
Summary
Ray Bradbury's internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-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.
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)
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What listeners say about Fahrenheit 451
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mr
- 27-02-17
Fantastic story, worth getting into...
Any additional comments?
The story is a classic, but the narration takes some getting into. The voice acting for the characters is great throughout, but the narration in the early scenes feels a little rushed and, at times, a little clunky. It gets better as you go through the book, and there are some points in which Tim Robbins really captures the frustration and drama of the world in which the protagonist lives. By halfway, the narrating style had me on the edge of my seat, so well worth persevering with if you find it poor at the start. As i say, the story itself is great. A really fantastic tale and a great overall audiobook.
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43 people found this helpful
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- Alexander
- 20-10-16
Glimpse of the future?
Really thought provoking book. Took a while to get into and finished all too soon. Can't believe it was written in the 50's - must have had a crystal ball.
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26 people found this helpful
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- dario
- 24-04-17
grasping till the end
The start was a bit difficult to digest but then I've grown into it and now I simply love it. There are some passages which have a clear resonance with our modern world.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Kindle Customer
- 17-11-16
Fahrenheit 451
Compulsive listening. A world without books would be a frightening thought. Knowledge of for everyone.
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17 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 16-10-16
Superb
I loved every single word and enjoyed every second listening to this book. This will be one of the very few books I will listen to again.
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13 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 13-03-16
Essential listening
I tried reading this book at school (mainly because it was quite thin) and couldn't get past the first few pages. The same was true when I downloaded the audiobook; the first 15 minutes were quite difficult to appreciate. However, after that I was completely hooked. This is such an important book because, even though we may not be burning books at the moment, we might as well be; far too few people - especially amongst the young - are interested in literature at all. This book frames the whole issue in a thrilling story which grips.
The narrator did an excellent job, really bringing the characters to life, but I deducted him one star for putting extra commas in long sentences which aren't actually there. Don't worry about that, though, download this very important book.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Mike Mc
- 10-01-17
Great thought provoking story
Excellent narration and well worth a listen. A brilliant story and one we hope will not be our reality.
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10 people found this helpful
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- Sigrin
- 02-06-17
Hyped literature
I like books that were written a long time ago about the future,. It’s then enjoyable to look at them against the current climate.
However, this just did not have the impact it should have had for me.....for instance I loved Brave new world by Aldous Huxley.
I am just an amateur very keen book lady and not a critic when it comes to the literary world, but this just did not excite me despite the amazing reviews.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 14-10-17
Not for me
Let me start by saying I really wanted to like this book. It got rave reviews, it was that bit different, and it was narrated by a famous actor. So far so good. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.
I found the writing to be very inaccessible. It tried to be so different that it came across as pompous.
The storyline was so poorly developed I don’t know where to start. It has that many gaps and unexplored issues in it, I wonder whether even the author got bored.
The characters are barely developed, including I would say the main protagonist.
I don’t necessarily mind an open ending, but this is so open ended it had me checking Audible to make sure I wasn’t missing a chapter.
Tim Robbins is, I’m sure, a great actor; but he really struggles with this narration. At numerous points during the book, he has to repeat a word or a phrase 10 or more times. There are only so many different intonations you can give to a word, before it sound like reading out loud a particularly bizarre shopping list.
Well at least I tried it and persevered to the end, but I will avoid this author in the future.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Amy
- 05-10-16
loved it !!!
I really loved this book and the narration was amazing. I'd recommend it to anyone. and it's so short it's not a big commitment.
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7 people found this helpful