Reviews with content warning for Rape - Nineteen Eighty-Four

Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

225 reviews

garden_goyle's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.25

the fact that the american right loves to quote this is absolutely hilarious especially when they use it in reference to communism lmaoooo

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ruichard10's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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krys_kilz's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective 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

I am still mulling over this book. There is so much. I will definitely need to read it again, perhaps even multiple times, to better understand everything Orwell is laying out here.

Update: Upon some reflection, this book has really stuck with me since reading it. The analysis of language and the written word, the manipulation of memory and the past, and the movement of power and the surveillance state... they were all such incredible frameworks for understanding the worlds we live within. It was incredible to me that analysis from the 1940's was still so sharp and applicable to the present. This was a book that really encouraged the reader to ask questions and reflect.

With all that said, the book was heavily misogynistic. Winston's character said a lot of horrible things and Julia's character was basically treated like a manic pixie dream girl. I don't think these flaws should be excused and instead should be met with rigorous critique.

The ending was also very bleak, which some people may have a problem with. I personally didn't mind it so much because I felt like it captured the feeling Orwell was writing from - that deep hopelessness and despair, the anti-utopia as discussed in Erich Fromm's afterward.

Overall, this was a book where you take what you need and compost the rest. And even with it's many faults, I think there was still a lot to hold onto.

"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. 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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brassnbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

I remember this book fondly but didn't remember how slow moving it can be at points
And I guess how dark it was but overall it's a good book!
George Orwell does well with books critiquing society and the like
Winston is a hugely unlikable character and so is Julia so while yes one would want them to succeed over the party I didn't care much what happened to either of them

although the torture and rape fantasy were both hard to read not so much because of the characters themselves but of the content in of itself

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toodeadtoread's review against another edition

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Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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sevenantidotes's review against another edition

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challenging 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? No

5.0

This is my favorite novel of all time. Despite a few flaws, every thing is so deeply profound, emotional, and compelling, and I do mean literally every even tiny element of this novel, from the history of its writing and its author to the novel itself and its impact on pop culture and journalism is, as I described before, deeply profound and emotional and compelling. To be honest, almost every book I've read since has disappointed me since I read it, it's just so impressive.

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coramorton02's review against another edition

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challenging 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

3.25

I think that the setup of the world and political system is genius, and I thought part I and part 3 were disturbing but really great reads. It really made me think about the meanings of loyalty, history and memory. However, I thought that the middle section of the novel was a huge drag and I really struggled to get through part II- it felt more like a political manifesto from Orwell than a novel with a plot. That’s not to say that I didn’t find the ideas interesting, and the commentary on totalitarianism is relevant even today, but I think I would have preferred the book if the political elements were wound throughout rather than presented as an info dump.

I also think that the female characters were badly fleshed out, used as plot devices rather than characters in their own right, and I was uncomfortable with the presentation and lack of exploration of misogyny in the book.

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