Reviews with content warning for War - 1984

Reviews tagging 'War'

1984 by George Orwell

273 reviews

gvstyris's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.25

But if there was hope, it lay in the proles. You had to cling on to that. When you put it in words it sounded reasonable: it was when you looked at the human beings passing you on the pavement that it became an act of faith.

Although I would argue that 1984 is far from the most realistic dystopian novel I have ever read, its influence on popular culture (and the wider genre!) is absolutely undeniable. I was surprised upon re-read how conceptual Orwell's Oceania is: it manages to still read a little like a political manifesto despite lacking Animal Farm's much more explicit allegories. This novel is also incredibly accessible because Orwell really breaks down the world for the reader, which was a welcome change after Dune.

There are a couple areas where 1984 really shined for me. Primarily, newspeak. Orwell aptly portrays language as a tool for control and manipulation, and the appendix's inclusion really made a difference for me. I was also in complete awe of the pages devoted to 'Goldstein's' agenda, which highlight the broader sociopolitical context of this novel so cleverly. They reminded me of The Handmaid Tale's 'Historical Notes' section -- genuinely such a cool way to place Orwell's world within a timeline that the reader is familiar with.

A couple criticisms have turned me off from a higher rating. As pointed out in the afterword of my copy, race is entirely absent from Orwell's world, which is a somewhat bizarre (and unconvincing) choice given its post-Holocaust setting. The misogyny and subtle racism are also pretty distasteful, which I think is important to acknowledge in a novel intending to speculate on the fate of humanity. Julia's character is relatively vapid and disinterested in broader political affairs, which was a struggle for me when contrasted so obviously with Winston's 'intellect.'

That being said, 1984 is absolutely worth the read, and outshines Fahrenheit 451 in almost every way possible...

One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.

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smile_h0ya's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense

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

2.75

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bilbili's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad 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? Yes

4.5

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wun4's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I hate all of the characters (except for Parsons). Y'all suck! Gosh, I thought

betraying someone during torture

would never get worse than Sotnikov! As a worldbuilding piece, as a statement, as commentary and as something you read and say "Oh, what the fuck.", it's beautiful. There's also a lot of foreshadowing all over, which i love a lot. As anything else, eeh. The plot stands as a tool to show it off to everyone who wouldn't read a big-ass essay about totalitarism. You do it in the middle of the book, though.

Julia had the right reaction to it.

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te_ss_i's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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_jennilein_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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sivujensankari's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.

George Orwell’s "1984" is a intriguing reflection of a totalitarian state, control and freedom. It starts off slow but as you get deeper into it, it’s impossible to put down because you just need to know what happens next.

It’s all about this society where the government, led by this mysterious Big Brother, watches everyone's every move. Winston’s journey shows just how much they control everything, even the past or what people think. It’s scary but also quite fascinating.

I found the end to be quite gripping even though the start was really slow for me. At the end, however, there was one part I didn't quite like that much because it was rather preachy. The main character, Winston Smith was quite fleshed out, but I would have liked to know more about the other characters. They, especially Julia, seemed quite superficial.

This would be a five star book for me but the slow beginning and the preachy part reduces the star rating a little for me. Nonetheless, I think everyone should read this book since it tackles so many important topics.

By and large, "1984" is not just a book; it’s a wake-up call about freedom, truth, and standing up against the odds. In addition, it makes you appreciate being able to dive into a book and think for yourself.

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patchedspines's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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meesh150's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

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

1.0

The best part of the book was when

Winston gets tortured.

No but in all seriousness, I do understand the political relevance but I feel like what most people fail to remember or realize is that this was written as a satirical. The world that Orwell created was definitely promising plot wise & probably even more so in the 40s/50s. But I’d say the execution wasn’t perfect or even that interesting for that matter. Maybe I’m biased because of the blatant misogyny (ie. the fact that it sounds like Orwell has never spoken to a real life woman and therefore created a ridiculous fantasy of his in the character of Julia) and seeing as I am reading this in the 21st century but I believe readers can read the introduction or a summary of this book and understand it for it’s main purpose without having to put themselves through the entirety of this book.
Hope this helps.

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simplyv375's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative reflective tense medium-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

4.0

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