The Introduction

Neil Gaiman is an English writer with extensive background. Personal favorites, that I didn’t even know he wrote until I did the research, of mine are Coraline and Stardust. Reviewing him as a whole will be very rewarding, I can tell, but we are looking over the introduction he wrote for Fahrenheit 451 April of 2013.

Introductions help get the reader in the right mind set to read the pieces at hand. Going in blindly is fun in all, but important things can be missed with classic reads such as Fahrenheit 451. Not all books have introductions since light stories don’t necessarily need preparing for. With a hard story like Fahrenheit 451, it is nice to get an inside look from the outside. They also help with underlaying goals of the piece. Bringing to light a hidden meaning, if there is one, or the authors reasons for writing. This can go for essay, articles or even smaller things like short stories and novellas. Authors have been known to right their own introductions, but with a story as old and critically acclaimed as Fahrenheit 451, one book will have an introduction by one person and 10 years later, a new release will have an introduction by another. In this case, the version with Neil Gaiman is the 60^th Anniversary Edition.

Personally, I do not like reading introductions. I like blindly jumping in to a read and getting shocked by the story, sit after and ponder, and make myself reread. I will save many hours of reading by just reading the introduction first, but where is the fun in that? Yet, I took a chance and said ‘why not’ and read the intro and was thoroughly amazed. Neil Gaiman made an introduction reader out of me.

Besides the praise that Neil Gaiman proclaims about Fahrenheit 451, he speaks about stories in general. An appropriate topic to speak of with the plot. In the beginning of the intro he states that there are 3 phrases ‘that make possible the world of writing.’

What if...

If only...

If this goes on...

You can literally put any story in those 3 phrases (in my obsession, I went through my whole library and did so). I really appreciate the explanation of this for the sheer fact that the hardest part of writing is getting started. With this simple thought, you can pick a phrase, just say anything after it, and write. Instant practice exercise.

Gaiman states that the original story was “What if... fireman burned down houses instead of saving them?” and wrote on that. The great thing about exercises is that it works your brain, and can be built upon. You never want to erase or start over. You never want to throw away, or rip up. Feel free to set it aside and go a different direction, yet, there is that one chance that you will crave the original thought, again. To grab it and reread and put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.

From the first “What if...,” the next one that came is, “If only... books can be saved.” This highlights the next major event in Fahrenheit 451 with Montag not burning a book. It was first a short story and with these phrases it grew in to something that needed to be extended to grasped the topic even more. To grab the foot hold of the real reason Bradbury first thought of it. Finding the root of his thought.

“If someone tell you what a story is about, they are probably right. If they tell you that that is all the story is about, they are very definitely wrong.” (Gaiman, Page 2)

We all had that teacher that had us think really hard why a blue curtain was more than just a blue curtain. Just like a word with multiple meanings or “a picture is worth a thousand words.” It says this, yes, but it always will be saying much more.

Euphemism is a mercy term. The scholars of our past thought that we needed a more sympathetic and empathetic way to saying anything. The imagery that writing in a circle, saying something without saying it. Being subliminal about things to set the mood properly. The stone walls on the outside the house makes it a prison. The blue curtains show the room is peaceful to the character. But a word is worth so much then just, well a word. An author may say one thing in their mind, but you can walk away with something the author my have not realized they knew all along.

“Stories are lies after all, tales of people who never existed and the things that never actually happened to them... Fiction is a lie that tell us true things, over and over.” Gaiman, Page 5

The written word gives more than just ink on a paper. They are how we communicate with others on a spiritual level. How someone can say something that they cannot find verbal words for. How to explain the solution to an issue that we never knew was an issue. The definition of a lie is painted in immoral marks. There are two sides to every coin and one may have been sitting looking at the world full face and getting dirty, while the other side sat hidden and polish from the ground under it. If you pick it up to see the other side or stand over it, you will find the truth of its journey.

Neil Gaiman’s way with words is gripping. Realizing that I was a fan before I knew I was a fan really amplifies his splendidness. In just a few pages about another piece of literature he was able to give the importance to the written word. The understanding he has for writing and reading stories gives goosebumps and opens eyes to a whole new prospective. Even if you read Fahrenheit 451 and was not a fan, have every version on the story on a porcelain book self with custom lighting, or need to see why the stories that bounce around in your head need to have the world hear, the introduction is a pleasure to know.

“We should not judge our books by their covers, and that some books exist between covers that are perfectly people shaped.” (Gaiman, Page 6)