Reviews tagging 'Blood'

1984 (Unabridged) by George Orwell

70 reviews

sandy_21's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Torture, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Body horror

Minor: Rape, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

librarymouse's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

1984 is a deeply upsetting book. It does not give me hope for the future. By the end of this book, the reader is left with the feeling of having finally reached a handhold at the top of an almost insurmountable summit only to have the bones in your hands systematically crushed by someone you had assumed loved you.
1984 almost makes the unwavering patriotism/belief in a singular person/undefined political ideology, that some of my older family members feel understandable. To see the hero worship for an untouchable ideal that contradicts itself and causes harm without room for critique or progress is painfully relatable for me as an American reader in 2022. I think that crushing dread that there may never be a better world than the one you currently live in with all of its flaws and hardships has been one of the few, traumatic, incorporeal heirlooms that's been passed down for generations.

I really enjoyed the character of Mr. Charrington. I loved the idea of someone lovingly curating ephemeral garbage from generations passed to create a museum of unsellable antiques, and I loved that that persona was an artfully constructed façade for a nefarious character. Orwell drew a brilliant parallel between the telescreen being concealed behind one of the few truly valuable antiques and the thought police officer being behind the studious looking façade that made him look almost like a relic from the past. Behind one of the last few images of the long dead world Winston longed for, which gave him hope for the future, was the symbol and force of the omnipotent presence they thought they were momentarily free from. 
I was genuinely convinced that Winston's fear of rats was going to have stemmed from his baby sister being eaten by them. The repeated mentions of proll women not leaving babies unattended for fear they be eaten by rats combined with the thing Winston had been blocking out, the poverty his family lived in in his early childhood, and his mother and sister's disappearance made that thought a tangible possibility.
Winston's character development before his time in prison was quite interesting. Initially, he was internally quite violent and held a deep hatred for the people around him, especially the women. His dreams of bashing in Julia's skull and his distaste for his neighbor's wife mixed with his misogynist internal monologue made Winston an intensely unlikable character for the first part of the book. Julia's complacency with party rules and regulations so long as they didn't interfere with her sex life, her zealously performed orthodoxy that she performed fluidly and without thought made her similarly unlikable at the beginning. Their pre-prison development made them into almost beautiful people, in terms of personality. They were both developing forms of self expression and learning to appreciate the small joys afforded to the prolls that their stations did not allow. Winston's longing for familial past he could barely remember and Julia's desire to break the rules slowly morphed into a tentatively explored new way of life and love that pulled from both the pre-party way of life and engsoc orthodoxy. The total destruction of their sense of selves during and after their time in prison was upsetting to read, but gave the book a satisfying ending. Winston's breaking point being something so benign and mortal as rats humanized him in such a way that it felt like the culmination of his characterization throughout the book. To have the thing that shatters his psyche be something so ingrained into him that all the mind tricks and double think in the world couldn't erase was weirdly oxymoronic. O'Brien's promise was that they would want to  confess and die for the party and the love of big brother before they would be killed, and Winston's descent into truly believing party orthodoxy happened in a way that is recognizable in the real world in the reactions of people with zealous, deeply held belief systems.

I'm glad I didn't read this book in high school. I had too much optimism for the fate of the world then. It would have gone right over my head.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Vomit, War, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Excrement, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Classism

Minor: Antisemitism

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Classism, Death, Trafficking, Infertility, Antisemitism, Blood, Misogyny, Violence, War, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Torture

f18'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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, and Police brutality

Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, and War

Minor: Sexual content, Gore, Rape, Racism, Excrement, Racial slurs, Fatphobia, Sexism, Antisemitism, Suicide, Murder, Child death, Slavery, Vomit, Alcohol, Ableism, and Fire/Fire injury

descriptions of hangings, child labor, tooth trauma,

involuntary shock therapy

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

jfield351's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

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

2.75

This book I read between the 24th and 26th of January as part of the Dymocks reading challenge for 'A book adapted for screen'. It was okay. The book was very dense and most of it was internal monologue and not dialogue. I did find it interesting, how the author had devised a whole world, a whole language based on where he thought communism would get to. Obviously the book has issues with sexism and racism, which I can't tell if they're from the author's beliefs or just from the main character Winston's beliefs. Definitely does not pass the Bechdel test. Some of the characters seem so unreal, but perhaps that is just a product of writing about a horrible futuristic world from the forties. For example, how <spolier> Julia just falls in love with Winston and gives him a note almost immediately. Given the political climate this just did not make sense to me. Neither did O'Brien willingly telling Winston about the Brotherhood, but then I read the ending and that part was cleared up for me. . It was a very easy book to read as I found it quite interesting, although, one of the chapters lasted 40 pages and included Winston reading a book, was just a retelling of information that the audience already knew. I did not like that chapter. It's a very different book to what I usually read but I did enjoy it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, War, Alcohol, Blood, Death, and Violence

Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Rape

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

martu_pm's review against another edition

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, and Cursing

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