Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

1984 by George Orwell

157 reviews

colie923's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Torture, and Police brutality

honeyvoiced's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Racism and Rape

nikenacs's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

[Book club - May 2022]

I now liked this SO much better than when I read it in school at 15. Also really, really reminded me why I like philosophy. '1984' takes the essential philosophical questions "What is (objective) reality? Who constructs reality?" and builds an entire state on the thought that a government could prescribe reality, fleshed out to the last detail. The society and world-building in this is nothing less than spectacular (if absolutely horrifying, of course). Also a great example for a book that puts plot over characters - Winston, Julia etc are just vehicles for the story, examples of people who have been brought up in the society this book aims to paint. Anyways, this was a tough read, but I'm so glad I did read it, and it will stay with me for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Rape

ribert's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Classism

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Blood, and War

Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Vomit, and Death of parent

sofrosune's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

== Español ==
Este es el libro más depresivo que he leído. No es que elijo leer libros depresivos, pero este clásico es de lo más depresivo que hasta ahora conozco. Sin embargo, luego de digerirlo completamente, me acompaña una sensación de calma y gratitud por no vivir en el mundo de 1984.

Pero no puedo decir lo mismo de los chinos, rusos y especialmente de los norcoreanos.

== English ==
This is the most depressing book I have read. It is not that I choose to read depressing books, it is simply that this classic is the most depressing thing that I have read until now. After completely assimilating this book, however, a feeling of calmness and gratitude stays with me, because I (and we) do not live in the world of 1984.

But I cannot say the same about the Chinese, Russians, and or course, the North Koreans.

== Deutsch ==
Ein deprimierendes Buch, dass handelt sich um das Leben der Nordkoreaner.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Torture

Minor: Sexual content and Police brutality

cottage_kaare's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

5.0

An amazing exploration of more political sci-fi fiction. An amazing piece to set the real world into perspective, as a lot of the plots in it are relevant to different parts of the world we live in. Classic Orwell political Satire. And a personal alm time favorite.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: War

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Alcohol

It was hard to tag but this book is so heavily drenched in gaslighting and institutional brainwashing through propaganda. Also

Our main character Winston, ends up not changing his mind, but rather falling subject to the brainwash, which I felt was personally hard to witness. The whole time he is fighting this bad regime, and we are so used to the main characters getting a satisfying and predictable ending. But in a way it was perfect, because it really sets in stone just how Strong this hellish fictional government is.

imanele's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Police brutality

remytherat's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

3.75

It's easy to see why this is a classic, and why it's so important to read. There were, however, things that I didn't love. It's clear Orwell has never met a woman, for one, and some parts in the middle dragged quite a lot. There were moments where the writing didn't flow as well as it did in Animal Farm; moments that were written to be dreamlike felt a bit too stiff. While this is definitely an impactful book, if only to understand the cultural references and the themes brought up, it's nowhere near my favourite classic.

Somehow, it feels different when a lot of the contents of the book already happen in one way or another; less like it's a dystopian future, and more like it's a worse version of the present.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, and Classism

pranati_pathak05's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and War