Reviews

1984 by George Orwell

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longaneyes_'s review against another edition

3.25

I struggle to give this book a review and rating because this Audible version that I listened to is NOT 1984. I did not realize that when I started listening. Obviously it's the same story and everything, but it's just a dramatization. Almost as if you're listening to a movie. I thought it was going to be 1984 verbatim with dramatic dialogue. I think that in the future, I need to read the actual book before listening to a dramatized version.

With all of that in mind, I also didn't really love the story that much. That may be an injustice to the original work, but it just wasn't really as good as I was anticipating. And I did have the same opinion about Animal Farm when I read that a little while ago.

But again, I hesitate to draw such conclusions due to the nature of the version of this book that I read. So take that as you will. I did really enjoy the dramatized audiobook experience though. So I think I will be listening to another one at some point, but I will be sure to do so only with a book which I have already read.

jmsmith's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5⭐️

estellaofvenus's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

itsjstcaro's review against another edition

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4.0

It is really astonishing how 1984 made me feel sick to the stomach at almost the entirety of the novel.
Orwell’s ability to describe scenes with such a disturbing accuracy and with such detail is absolutely unmatched.

The world building was incredible, from the secret control of everyone to the new language Newspeak, which is the opposite of english and focuses on limiting vocabulary so the people cannot express themselves fully in order to outlaw thought crime, so on and so forth

The romance between Julia and Winston was unexpected, but I felt always suspicious of Julia. The relationship to O’Brian was the storyline that really ripped my heart into pieces, as well as Winston’s conviction at the end that 2+2=5, as he said if the Party convinced him of this equation he would be truly lost.

Also, the parallels to our nowadays society were so freaking disturbing.

~4.5 stars