Reviews with content warning for Death - 1984

Reviews tagging 'Death'

1984 by George Orwell

142 reviews

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative mysterious reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

marygg3's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Audible needs to take the casting directors and give them a raise. An incredibly powerful book on its own, it was turned into a masterpiece by the talented men and women who participated in its realization. The dramatization was incredible, the cast on point and the music outstanding. All in all, one of the greatest pieces of literature and an amazing adaptation.

Content Warnings

swimfast724's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

I read this in high school and I'm so glad I did. It was hard to read, it was very long, and it was pretty sexually explicit. But I'm glad I read it because it opened my eyes. It fascinated me so much that it basically defined the dystopian genre I never knew existed and it's now my favorite genre. It's hard to get through the description but it's so important. Not a word is wasted.
The fact that Orwell basically predicted the future is both incredible and terrifying. We need to stop before it's too late. I have a favorite quote from Einstein that says: "I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots and the world is doomed." This is exactly where we are as a society today.

Content Warnings

sofiam19's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark 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

Rating this based off the Audible version I listened to, which for the performance and music alone zwas wow… always knew what the story was about but never read it. It was enjoyable and I can see why it’s a classic. Sure it’s extreme - that’s the whole point. Tom Hardy as Big Brother was awesome, but he did sound like Bane lol.

Content Warnings

andrealinia's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

gvstyris's review against another edition

Go to review page

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...