Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

1984 by George Orwell

86 reviews

mysimas's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective 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? No

3.5

Over-the-top depiction of an absolutist regime. Last year I’d read a collection of interviews with North Korean refugees, and while their testimonies describe a world not dissimilar to that of 1984, the differences are there. The real-life system doesn’t run as smoothly and the control over the people isn’t as absolute. I also highly doubt any real-life systems would bother to convert someone whom they plan to kill anyway. It costs precious resources. Forcing a dishonest testimony is faster, cheaper and just as effective.

Part 3 was chilling, but over the top. Part 2 had the irritating romance with Julia who happily slept with a man who told her, to her face, he wanted to rape and murder her. I really can’t blame her for ‘betraying’ him at the first notion of torture; the piece of garbage wasn’t worth her time, much less her suffering. I did like their final meeting though, the way they couldn’t go back anymore.

Part 1 was my favourite of the three. Even though the mechanics of the world ran too smoothly, I enjoyed the exploration, as well as Winston’s awakening and his attempts to covertly find a place for himself in an environment that was designed to never leave you alone with your thoughts. I breezed through that part. If only the whole book had been like this.

Final note — I’m firmly convinced that Winston was into dudes. In his marriage with Katherine he would’ve been happy to forgo sex; he obviously loathed Julia as well as all other women; but he was quite enamoured with everything O’Brien. Heck, the following quote could’ve been written about Will and Hannibal, and everyone knows how those two stand with each other:

The old feeling, that at bottom it did not matter whether O'Brien was a friend or an enemy, had come back. O'Brien was a person who could be talked to. Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. O'Brien had tortured him to the edge of lunacy, and in a little while, it was certain, he would send him to his death. It made no difference. In some sense that went deeper than friendship, they were intimates; somewhere or other, although the actual words might never be spoken, there was a place where they could meet and talk.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Alcoholism and Violence

Minor: Rape

zykx's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.5

To answer, "Is this book mainly plot- or character-driven?": neither, it's driven by the setting. The setting is the main highlight of the book, but it doesn't have much else going for it. I didn't like the characters and I'd have difficulty describing what the plot is. The main tension is the fact that Winston is a dead man, figuratively speaking, from the beginning. This isn't a spoiler as it's established in the first couple of pages. He commited a thoughtcrime. A boring exposition and I spent the entire time waiting "for the plot to start". I didn't understand the book while reading the beginning, but I get it now. The middle did not have to drag on as long as it did and some parts that were up to ten pages long, simply did not have to be in the book. For example,

when Winston starts reading Goldstein's book and we get excerpts from chapters one and three to read for ourselves, we don't learn anything new. Similar to how Winston phrases it, it clarifies what we already knew, making it boring and redundant. I wish it wasn't in the book at all. In my opinion it would have made it feel less like a chore to read.

Because of these redundant and unneeded parts, I was counting the pages I had left to read, literally.

The end was good. It gave a much better perspective on the setting than any of the long winded exposition parts did and I appreciated the dive into

how the Ministry of Love worked

as most dystopian novels don't go into

the gory bits of their punishment/brainwashing systems

(that stuff).

The plot twists at the beginning (parts one and two) made sense, and they were believable. Part three was the opposite. In a way, you could argue that was done on purpose, but I didn't feel anything (because I didn't like the characters) and it didn't dwell on it either. Just onto the next thing. This I suppose was just a preference thing similar to how I didn't like the emphasis on sex which, again, made sense, but was kind of mood-breaking because of my immature sense of humor.

(i DIED when O'Brien said "we will abolish orgasms" like bruhhh T-T)

Now onto Winston: I hate him.

Why are you having rape fantasies, you creep. Please leave, exit, and i wish you died. The way he thinks about women is gross and so uncomfortable. Let me just barf right now.

He fits as narrator though. He grants us a good perspective to see Oceanic London through.
Julia was forgettable and slightly annoying.

Controversial opinion that I have decided to hold: we stan Mr. Charrington

As a political commentary, it's good. It's the whole reason why people like it, recommend it, etc. I'd much prefer to get all of this information from a youtube video essay, however. I suppose from my background of learning about the Gestapo in world history class and the thought provoking video essays I've watched, nothing feels new here. The ideology of Ingsoc was well developed and interesting along with the history of Oceania. 

2.5 stars because it wasn't enjoyable. I would recommend people to read it though, just once to get it over with. 1984 is definitely very fun to talk about and the discussions that stem from it are some of the more fun ones I've had over books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Torture

Moderate: Rape and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism and Body shaming

The narrator has gross thoughts sometimes.

liagorash's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, War, Gore, Gaslighting, Death, Violence, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Bullying, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Death of parent, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Body shaming, and Alcohol

Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Slavery, Suicide, Rape, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Stalking

peachtea's review against another edition

dark informative 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Minor: Blood, Excrement, and Vomit

morgemort's review against another edition

dark

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Torture, Vomit, and Violence

nielsrenssen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

One of the best books of all time written by one one of the best authors of all time. Surprisingly philosophical. Every sentence is masterfully constructed. The fact that the metric system plays a role in Orwell's vision of dystopia is hilariously British. Need to give this an annotated re-read at some point.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Colonisation, Suicide, Torture, War, Confinement, Police brutality, Slavery, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Antisemitism

confused_art_person's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

2.0

It was a fascinating world with an interesting premise that would have hooked me if it were not for the characters. The character’s attitudes and personalities put me so off of the plot that if this were not required reading for me, I would’ve dropped the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Physical abuse

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Alcoholism and Rape

marsisred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, and Violence

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. 

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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

elodie_melodie's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Sexual content