Fahrenheit 451

By: Ray Bradbury

Narrated by: Tim Robbins

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)

IF SOMEONE GIVES YOU RULED PAPER,

WRITE THE OTHER WAY.
I have lost count of how many times I have read or listen to this book. This time was the most pleasant and I felt I got the most out of it. Robbins is my kind of narrator. Some might think him too dramatic, but I appreciated the feeling he put into the reading. The book is divided into three parts, with the first part being the best.

THE MIND DRINKS LESS AND LESS
For a book written in the 40's it is amazing all the things Bradbury predicted. He predicted the death of newspapers, he predicted sitcoms, the word intellectual becoming a swear word, ear buds and people listening to something all day, Reality TV, and schools becoming more about sports then about academics. He also predicted that lots of people would be more likely to vote for the most handsome candidate, but that may have already been in practice during the 40's I don't know. He goes on about how we will need to be entertained at all times. This made me laugh, as just the other day I put coffee in the microwave, set it for 35 seconds and then worried about how I was going to fill the next 35 seconds. Some of these may be controversial, but in my mind he hit the nail on the head.

YOU THINK TOO MUCH
Part two was really good and part three was good. I thought in part three he got too poetic and dramatic, but Bradbury has been known to do that from time to time. His worries about over population did not happen and we did not have a bunch of nuclear wars. Books have not disappeared, they have gotten bigger, RE: Sanderson, Gabaldon, Hobbs and George RR.

SEA SHELL RADIO
Tim Robbins was great. When audible first came out with actors as narrators, I was not for it. I felt I was being disloyal to my favorite narrators, such as Dick Hill, Ray Porter, and Will Patton (who is an actor). So far, I have heard Robbins and Hathaway and both were great and made the books they read a pleasurable experience. I guess they aren't just pretty faces.

A lesson to not rewrite history.

This book is so relevant to our lives today. It opens your mind to the negative effects caused by a society limiting and censoring knowledge and historical moments.

Please read to be aware of the implications of book burning and rewriting history.

Shrill, but but ruined

I like Tim Robbins... but this was not a good narration. Sorry.

Bradbury is gold tho

A Timeless Masterpiece

Excellent story, Excellent narration. I read the book decades ago, but "hearing" the book was like reading it for the first time. It's a story about a firefighter burning books (it's his government-sanctioned job), and his transformation when he begins to doubt the righteousness of his work. The story is timeless, the writing brilliant...and the narrator did the work justice. Can't give Mr. Robbins a higher compliment than that! (Mr. Bradbury, you are sorely missed.)

Timeless in its message and delivery

There is little Bradbury in my collective literature. Yet I was lucky enough to have this book pressed upon me for its thoughts and reminders. If you are someone who searches for something beyond the fours walls of your world, this delivers in spades.

Here I go again!

I've read this before and now I'm enjoying it again! It is as enjoyable as the first time! It's great!

Timeless

This is a must read book for every generation. It touches on many important issues such as materialism, individualism, free speech, war, critical thinking and more. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to gain a further appreciation of literature.

As relevant today as when it was first written.

The story starts out like an enigma not knowing what is going on. But, as the characters develop so does the story and we were drawn into the story and its plots and how ironically it fit into our society in theU.S. My husband and I enjoyed listening to this book as we drove to our weekend away destination. The book was a good beginning and end of our weekend.
I would definitely recommend this book told by Tim Robbins

Classic and narrated well

Sometimes you peruse through the lists of books and you come across one from your childhood. I had read this is middle school, as did most people, but had forgotten about it for years. When I was assigned to read this I was none too pleased. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book when I had finished and it sparked a love of books and reading in me that has never left. I have poor vision now, and reading is tough fir me. Audiobooks has been a godsend. Tim Robbins did an amazing job narrating the story and made it enjoyable I listen to.

Was probably a breakthrough at its time

Very good story and writing but I feel that for a reader today, most of the plot is very obvious. Still a great listen and the narrator is amazing