Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

1984 by George Orwell

39 reviews

vnfhcxksiw's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, War, Torture, Sexism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Body shaming, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, Infertility, War, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Rape, Torture, Abandonment, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Alcohol, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

riverofhorton's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

So this was actually my second read of this book, the first having been around 10 years ago. Just as I did the previous read through, I was struck by just how much of this book is relevant to our world today. This is one of the books that I will keep coming back to again and again throughout my lifetime.
The book itself is a somewhat dramatised (hopefully) version of Stalin's Russia/Nazi Germany. It has so many layers to it, and I', still not convinces I've worked out just how deep the 'Party' goes in their propaganda, gaslighting, and plotting against its own citizens.
This is an incredibly well planned out (or perhaps the word is researched) and realised world, where even the bits that are fiction could very easily be real. That, I think, is the true terror of this book: How easily society could go from even today's status, to that found in this book. Thus, Orwell's intention to have this book serve as a warning was fully realised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Classism, Cursing, Death, Body shaming, Child abuse, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Genocide, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Medical content, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Colonisation, Confinement, Deportation, Slavery, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Police brutality, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Torture, Trafficking, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, and War

cursed_hal's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• 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: Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Misogyny, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, War, Sexism, and Death

Minor: Child death and Colonisation

elliotcarlisle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, Body horror, Violence, and War

Minor: War, Suicide, Slavery, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Colonisation, Classism, Alcohol, Blood, Torture, Murder, Mental illness, Gore, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Vomit, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Cursing, Confinement, and Death

swimfast724's review against another edition

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Slavery, Genocide, Sexual content, Classism, Police brutality, Torture, Toxic relationship, War, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Trafficking, Grief, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, and Child abuse

Minor: Body shaming and Abandonment

te_ss_i's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, War, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Xenophobia, Grief, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Genocide, Mental illness, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

patchedspines's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Colonisation, Grief, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Sexual content, Colonisation, Violence, and Alcohol

haiqanoor's review against another edition

it’s so boring, all the main character does is complain and be a misogynist -

the only mildly interesting thing he did was was write in that book and then he went straight back to having beef with some kids

- i don’t remember the guy’s name and orwell is a snitch so

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Torture, and Classism

artmuseam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

haunting and heartbreaking..this book captivated me from the start with the insanely creepy details of this society and how it functions. while it was a bit slow at times, i still found it to be very interesting and i almost wish it was a little bit longer on certain parts. this book is definitely not a light read and honestly made me feel very sad at the end. 4/5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Torture, and Death

Moderate: War

Minor: Sexual content and Colonisation

castle_samj's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

I have both simultaneously and impossibly completely read this book and wholeheartedly denounced its utter existence or potential to exist. 

I think I’m disappointed. I had long expected this book to contain some more SCIENCE to its -fiction, yet mostly it dealt with drama and confusing or blurring the lines of reality. I’d wager this was more intended as a political protest and warning tragedy of the existing world governments in the 1940s than a prediction of what was to come. While a lot of the meta-content has, in fact, evolved to become true, it equally mispredicted some changes, lending to its true purpose of protest. 

I can not recommend reading this book. Read a synopsis or something, or read Part 2 Chapter 09 and nothing else. I’m not even sure if Orwell was antisemitic by making the ‘villain’ be Jewish (

there’s no good closure on the purpose of Goldstein other than to be the scapegoat for the opposition to the Party, and nothing other than hateful rhetoric toward him or his ideology

) but he doesn’t do aftercare for any of the awful things; you just get a tragedy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Police brutality, Self harm, Genocide, Racial slurs, Slavery, Kidnapping, War, Addiction, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Classism, Murder, Colonisation, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Antisemitism, and Grief