Nineteen Eighty-Four
Ratings26
Average rating4.3
15
Ratings26
Average rating4.3
"Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel", often published as "1984", is a dystopian social science fiction novel by English novelist George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final book completed in his lifetime. Thematically, "Nineteen Eighty-Four" centres on the consequences of totalitarianism, mass surveillance, and repressive regimentation of persons and behaviours within society. Orwell, himself a democratic socialist, modelled the authoritarian government in the novel after Stalinist Russia. More broadly, the novel examines the role of truth and facts within politics and the ways in which they are manipulated. The story takes place in an imagined future, the year 1984, when much of the world has fallen victim to perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, historical negationism, and propaganda. Great Britain, known as Airstrip One, has become a province of a totalitarian superstate named Oceania that is ruled by the Party who employ the Thought Police to persecute individuality and independent thinking. Big Brother, the leader of the Party, enjoys an intense cult of personality despite the fact that he may not even exist. The protagonist, Winston Smith, is a diligent and skillful rank-and-file worker and Outer Party member who secretly hates the Party and dreams of rebellion. He enters into a forbidden relationship with a colleague, Julia, and starts to remember what life was like before the Party came to power.
Reviews with the most likes.
I have this bad, irrational habit of comparing George Orwell's 1984 to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I remember enjoying BNW more than I did NEF, but I don't recall much of Huxley's book itself, so I might have to reread it at some point in my life to form a better, proper, and solid opinion.
Having said that, I know NEF is a good book, I really do. I understand why it's a classic, and I surely understand—and feel—its importance, but, at the same time, I can't say I enjoyed reading it. I know not all good books are enjoyable, and maybe enjoying it wasn't the point, but I can't help expecting to like a book I'm reading for no other reason than because I want to, can I? And the issue here is not only that NEF is depressing—it is—, I happen to like a lot of depressing books, but to me it felt overly repetitive at some points—though I believe it was intentional—, and I didn't feel for Winston, the protagonist, as much as I felt for the society in which he lived in. I didn't dislike Winston, that's not the problem, I just didn't care for him; this is, in my opinion, the worst thing that can happen in a story—it's very possible that I am the problem, so I hope I'm not discouraging anyone here. Read it. Take your own conclusions. I know lots of people who love this novel wholeheartedly.
It goes without saying that it gave me a lot to think about my own reality and what our times are coming to. I flinched every time I had a flash of recognition at one point or another. Up to discussion: is it possible to develop a society like this? I would like my answer to be, “I don't think so,” but right now it's way more like, “I hope not.”
Four stars. Yeah. It's truly a brilliant book—just not an enjoyable one.
English
I'm totally devastated and pleased at the same time! This book is a masterpiece.
Español
¡Estoy totalmente devastada y complacida al mismo tiempo! Este libro es una obra maestra.
Wastes writing space lasciviously (baffling, really, considering Orwell's editor's nitpicks). Very on-the-nose. To work oneself into polishing the cross-referencing urbanism formulated in one's prose only to demolish it within mere pages is worthy of parodical accord. Tugs the reader with it's not-so-subtle seeds. Left me with zilch compulsion or feeling of having been compelled. Works it way with decency due to my sufficient interest in its landscape and secondary characters.
