Book Report

This spring I've been making an effort to read some of the classics. These books are usually read in high school or college literature classes, but I either avoided them, or got the Cliff's Notes back in the day. In an effort to make up for youthful indiscretions, I have finally buckled down and read four of these classics over the last few weeks. Since any book reports I may have turned in were probably somewhat improvised, I thought I'd right that wrong too. And so. . .

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 1953

The writing style is a little hard to get into. There are lots of fragments, jumping around and curious sentence structure. The book is a dystopian future fantasy, where books are banned, mass media is nothing but "feel good" pablum on giant TV walls, and people don't think much. Aside from the book burning, it's not really that far fetched. In fact, the book burning is described as only the last step in thought control, after people largely voluntarily gave up the books. It's a depressing story, but with vague hope toward the end. I know it has already been made into a movie once, but with a little updating, such as references to actual media developments worked into the back story, it could be the makings of a summer blockbuster. Or would that be "feel good" pablum?

Recommended.

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank 1959

Written as a present-day nuclear holocaust story, the book must now be read as a "what if" story, firmly set in the late 50s or early 60s. Because of an underlying theme of segregation in the South, and the reliance on technology and jargon of the time, it must be read with the time period in mind. Once your brain is in that mode, this book really is a good, swift read. The first half of the novel introduces us to the characters, and the town they inhabit, and sets up the reason for the war. Because our characters have limited access to news or outside information, the reality of the war, and what is going on outside their community, the depictions of the death and destruction is rather cold and clinical. But this book concerns itself with a close-nit group of friends and neighbors, and how they manage to survive and even thrive in the worst of times. If there is a message of hope here, it is humanity's ability to adapt and survive.

Recommended

1984 by George Orwell 1949

I remembered this book as dry, dull and depressing when I "read" it in high school. "Skimmed" would be a more accurate term. And I was wrong, wrong, wrong. This is a fantastic book--the best of this bunch. It is another dystopian future fantasy, or more accurately a nightmare. Most people have a vague notion of the novel's plot, a future where every conversation, activity, movement, even facial expression might be--even probably is--being watched by the government. The government (or Party) is divided into the elites (Inner Party), the middle class (Outer Party), and the plebes. Plebes are pretty much left to their own devices, but they live in squalor, and represent 85% of the population. Outer Party members are scarcely better off, and are watched like hawks at all times. The Inner Party, of course, are the ruling class.

The Party is in control of reality in 1984. All media is purged of anything contrary to the Party, and replaced with supporting stories. The people have lost the ability to question authority, and don't even notice when the "truth" changes--even in mid-sentence. Our protagonist, Winston Smith, finds himself slipping, and starting to question the way of things. The Party, and its leader, Big Brother, can't have that!

While Orwell took this future to a place that likely will not completely come to pass, many things in this book are eerily accurate. Doesn't Karl Rove claim that the administration "creates our own reality?" Didn't Bush say, "We've never been about 'stay the course?'" We've got giant view screens (also present in Fahrenheit 451), but they can't see us, right? RIGHT? The Patriot Act allows an uncomfortable amount of government surveillance, doesn't it? And, the inexplicable allegiance shown by 28% of the population for Bush, will be brought home to you by the last line of the novel. Downright spooky.

Highly recommended

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 1932

This is another dystopian future novel. Sensing a theme? Maybe I need to branch out. . . Anyway, in this future, babies are bred in labs, genetically manipulated into rigid castes, and people are generally happy about it. They live to have sex--no love--but only for recreation. The women are either bred to be infertile, or have birth control dispensers on their belts. The first protagonist in the story starts to think there should be more to life, but he's an unsympathetic cowardly character I couldn't relate to. A second protagonist appears half way in, but he's written in a way that really didn't make sense to me. For a "savage," he was far too well spoken, and seemingly had no negative qualities. There are certainly good ideas here, and maybe Mr. Huxley was just ahead of his time. This might make a great movie too, with some tweaks here and there. Good idea, badly executed, but maybe not a 1932 author's fault. That said, I just love the term centrifugal bumblepuppy.

Not recommended