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accio_gays's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Had to read it for English Lit. It was slow and a slog in some places. I hate Winston with a passion, especially after what happens in room 101 . The ending was so disappointing, NGL. I really wanted Winston to have revolted and won over The Party, and for him to escape the dystopian world in some way . It was really thought provoking though, I enjoyed really thinking about what the characters were saying etc, and how they interact in a world not entirely unlike our own. There are some quotes within the book that just made me go on a thought tangent, it was just so exciting to think about. Probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't taken English tbh, it's not really a book I would've voluntarily picked up. But I'm kinda glad I did, in a weird and twisted way. I love a book that allows me to think. However the outdated and clearly Christian views (the religious undertones that run through the book, about purity, and Big Brother being a higher power etc that just may be the English student in me though) that run through this book made me want to throw it across the room (which I did). the descriptions of many minorities including Jewish people, Fat people, women etc DISGUSTING. I get that Orwell was from the 1940s or whatever but the views of the main character are nasty and say so much about how much of a shitty person the author would've been in our time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, War, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Colonisation, and Fatphobia
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Slavery, and Vomit
cdt96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
4.0
A slow but necessary book. I think it offers a warning guide for us. Things people tend to call 1984-esque are not what this book is about. I think this book is a necessary read for those who may be complacent within the status quo, who view their hate as justified. I think this book is a tool to combat propaganda on some levels
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Medical content, Police brutality, Torture, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Racial slurs, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol
marthadude's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Gun violence and Fatphobia
Minor: Racism and Rape
antoniaodernein's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Sexism, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Fatphobia, Death, Blood, and Hate crime
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Vomit
bibs's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-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? N/A
3.0
- Spoiler Free - (still in process)
I had pretty high hopes for this book, everyone that I talked to loves it, and when I started it after years of wanting to read it I was shocked at the misogyny expressed that no one had told me about. This fact put me off reading it and may have tainted the rest of the experience for me; this review is solely my experience with it given my background and expectations, if you like this book and don't mind the problems it may have in my eyes, that is totally valid!
I think the book (personally) doesn't hold as the masterpiece it is said to be; I find the messages to be all very in-your-face, nothing is left for the reader to think about and form their own opinion on. This doesn't really hold as a good criticism of Socialism, either, because it basically makes a strawman argument against it (I've heard that "Animal Farm" is better in that regard).
Before I list my problems with this book, I want to say that Winston is a pretty unlikable character.
Main Sins:
- The descriptions of fat people are all pretty bad and made me want to burn the book because they had no relevance to the plot;
- Winston just hates all women and thinks that they're all dumb, blind Party-followers or just weak, until he finds one that says "I love you" and then he suddenly stops hating women *sigh*. Also pretty big TW for rape bc this mas is honestly crazy;
- He has some hope that poor people can change the current situation but overall he isn't that nice to them in his narration (writing their lines with grammar errors was a pretty low blow in my opinion), for the most part, they just mindlessly accepting anything that is thrown at them;
- The representation of Communism/Socialism seems more like a Capitalist Society with some mentions of food and clothing stramps for Party-members
Also, George Orwell acts like older generations don't spend their days complaining about the current state of society, and saying that young people are all degenerates (I understand that under a totalitarian system people won't have the same freedom to express their ideas, but the proles seem to live with pretty little surveillance compared to Party workers/members and they still don't emit any opinions like "When I was young...")
Conclusion:
That said, I still think that this might be a worthy read if you're aware that this is a book with very outdated views regarding some issues and you feel like it can still be interesting, you should go for it. It wasn't mindblowing for me personally but this is a favorite for many of my friends.
I had pretty high hopes for this book, everyone that I talked to loves it, and when I started it after years of wanting to read it I was shocked at the misogyny expressed that no one had told me about. This fact put me off reading it and may have tainted the rest of the experience for me; this review is solely my experience with it given my background and expectations, if you like this book and don't mind the problems it may have in my eyes, that is totally valid!
I think the book (personally) doesn't hold as the masterpiece it is said to be; I find the messages to be all very in-your-face, nothing is left for the reader to think about and form their own opinion on. This doesn't really hold as a good criticism of Socialism, either, because it basically makes a strawman argument against it (I've heard that "Animal Farm" is better in that regard).
Before I list my problems with this book, I want to say that Winston is a pretty unlikable character.
Main Sins:
- The descriptions of fat people are all pretty bad and made me want to burn the book because they had no relevance to the plot;
- Winston just hates all women and thinks that they're all dumb, blind Party-followers or just weak, until he finds one that says "I love you" and then he suddenly stops hating women *sigh*. Also pretty big TW for rape bc this mas is honestly crazy;
- He has some hope that poor people can change the current situation but overall he isn't that nice to them in his narration (writing their lines with grammar errors was a pretty low blow in my opinion), for the most part, they just mindlessly accepting anything that is thrown at them;
- The representation of Communism/Socialism seems more like a Capitalist Society with some mentions of food and clothing stramps for Party-members
Also, George Orwell acts like older generations don't spend their days complaining about the current state of society, and saying that young people are all degenerates (I understand that under a totalitarian system people won't have the same freedom to express their ideas, but the proles seem to live with pretty little surveillance compared to Party workers/members and they still don't emit any opinions like "When I was young...")
Conclusion:
That said, I still think that this might be a worthy read if you're aware that this is a book with very outdated views regarding some issues and you feel like it can still be interesting, you should go for it. It wasn't mindblowing for me personally but this is a favorite for many of my friends.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Body shaming, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, and Police brutality
Moderate: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, and Genocide
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