Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

153 reviews

lily1304's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

Worth reading because it's a classic and it's so influential - "Big Brother" being synonymous with surveillance, and thoughtcrime/Thought Police are common references as well. Glad I could check this one off the list.

In its merits as dystopian literature... I'm not convinced. Winston and Julia are both kind of non-characters with very few discernable traits or motives. Julia is especially vapid, given that she constantly lets Winston speak for her and doesn't seem to be interested in

the rebellion they pledge their lives to.

It's possible that Orwell intended his two main characters to be deeply uninteresting to demonstrate that that's what a fascist surveillance state does to people. But it's a slog to read sometimes.

That, plus, it seemed like a large portion of the book was dedicated to Goldstein's writing or O'Brien's lectures. In some ways, 1984 is a great example of fiction as a medium for political ideas. But in other ways - if he has to interrupt the narrative with a direct lecture on power to get his point across, then he's not a very effective storyteller.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Colonisation, and Classism

aivi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It's a bit sad, dark and scary but it is also a classic and a good reflection on society.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Gaslighting, and War

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Police brutality

joanacoutinho's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, and Police brutality

Minor: Sexual content

toodeadtoread's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism

mickymouse_007's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

My god.... this was a hard read. Not in a bad sense but this soaked up all the happiness in me and left be shocked, rooted to the spot. And I love it for every thing it is. 
Did I expect this to hit this hard? No. Was I prepared for this flawed masterpiece? No. Do I regret reading this? Also no. 
I love the layers of this book. It makes you cry a bit. Just like an onion. I am never really fond of sci fi or dystopian books but this book changed my perspective. It was a really dense book and I think people should at least have a basic idea of the book and its themes before jumping into it because it could be triggering to some folks (especially volume 3). 
I love the world Orwell created and used the political references in his time to write it. It's so shocking and dark and dull and creepy. And it's such a big red flag and serves as a warning for all of us. 
I hate this book for destroying me though (Do I have to explain?) 
I knew that I would give this book a 5 star rating but vol 3 chapter 2 especially sealed the rating- I had no control over it from that point on. I was crying but no tears came out and my heart was thumping in my chest. 
Overall, I love it. definitely recommend. I will read this again and again and again just to understand it on a more deeper level. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Police brutality

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

secretly_a_human's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit

Minor: Rape

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