I can see why this is one of those classic books. But I'm surprised that it took me until I was 27 to read it. Especially since I'm such a bookworm.
I'd definitely put this in the dystopian category. The society is so messed up that firemen set fires, not fight them. They burn down houses where there are books. It's a society that burns all books, because you can't control people when they are intellectual and able to think for themselves. That's just a sad sort of society.
Guy Montag, the main character, is kind of an anomaly in this world. He's a fireman, but he has a curiosity about books that will eventually be his undoing. He begins to question society and how it has turned out. He doesn't like the wall televisions (full walls that you can eventually make a room of screens out of).
It's an innovative book which I feel is meant to bring to light the way society has been changing. It does seem more focused on active things than intellectual ones. Our society is becoming one that cuts arts programs but gives big funding to things like football programs. Something is wrong with that. Who's to say that we won't one day end up like Montag's society?
