Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - 1984

Reviews tagging 'Suicidal thoughts'

1984 by George Orwell

121 reviews

imanele's review against another edition

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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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remytherat's review against another edition

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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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manu_k's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

Beautifully horrifying, this book is a ride from start to finish. We know it has been a cornerstone for the dystopian fiction genre, but reading it makes me realize just how much this book has shaped this genre.

On the writing style: I thought it was very beautifully written, descriptive but not very much so, the exact kind of thing I like. The way it was written and the analogies and the non - linear storytelling in some parts came together so well, it was immersive in the best way.

On the story:

the first part was almost boring, which I thought was the point. It showed us how the regime worked, some background to Winston, but didn't actually contribute to advancing the story line as such. The second part was much more fast paced and actually exciting in regards to the advancement of the story, and by far some of the chapters in this part are my favorites. I didn't appreciate the whole 'I love you' debacle in the beginning, but I guess it shows how much sexually and emotionally repressed these people are. I believe it seems very fitting that Julia is introduced as a central character at the start of the second part and her role ends at the end of the second part. The third part was one of the most difficult parts to get through, despite me having experience with reading torture scenes (I read The Surgeon when I was 15, it still haunts me). It was brutal no holds barred kind of writing, with the descriptions, O'Brien's almost - almost - loving teacher like treatment of Winston, and then the change in the way of Winston's thinking, how different it was from the other two parts. The ending was surprising to me, despite knowing that it won't end happily as other dystopian books I have read.

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