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dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I listened to this as an audiobook and whilst I enjoyed it, I don’t think I would have been able to finish this if I was reading it in print. There were some long-winded moments where Winston would be reading texts or ruminating on certain ideas that - whilst valuable - sometimes did not keep my attention. That being said, every word is insightful and important in Orwell’s meditation on the nature of power and humanity.
I felt this novel was particularly relevant in a world where certain individuals are manipulating media - even to the point of revising history and fact - to influence people.
I felt this novel was particularly relevant in a world where certain individuals are manipulating media - even to the point of revising history and fact - to influence people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Torture, War
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Do I recommend reading this book? Yes.
Did I hate reading it? Also yes.
Did I hate reading it? Also yes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Colonisation, War
Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Way too long for what the story was trying to convey. Very slow pace and couldn’t keep my attention.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence
Minor: War
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, War
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual violence
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abandonment, War
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:
Complicated
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Colonisation, War
Minor: Alcoholism, Slavery, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is the actual definition of a mind-bender.
My first impression of this book was not a promising one: I spent the first thirty pages bored out of my skull despite the chilling setting and ideas being introduced due to its dry, matter-of-fact execution. I also have a bit of a love-hate relationship with dystopian and fantasy novels that introduce the world by throwing readers straight into the action of daily life and leave them to figure out the world they're in. It's probably the most satisfying and rewarding type of introduction, but initially the most laborious. Safe to say I was pretty close to DNFing, since it felt by page 30, everything of interest had been introduced and somehow left me... uninterested--surely a sign of it only being downhill from there.
Of course, things picked up pretty quickly after that with the introduction of Julia, and it was then that the paranoia this society instilled really began to take its effect on me on Winston's behalf. Julia's character in and of itself has also become a topic of much interest to me; I would love to do a complete character study on her. In the midst of this totalitarian government, you expect the catalyst for the main character's pursuing something more to be the rebel prototype--the person who is hellbent on unveiling all the government's lies, in turn overthrowing it and achieving liberty for all, regardless of the risks involved--and yet what we get instead is somebody who, while claiming to detest the government and all its lies, only cares about unveiling the lies and practices that directly affect her. She is otherwise complacent in the belief that everyone hates the Party on a level, and would overthrow it if presented with the opportunity, and thus dismisses (and actually deeply resents the thought of) any notion of an actual organised rebellion. When Winston says, 'I don't believe we can alter anything in our own lifetime. But one can imagine little knots of resistance springing up here and there--small groups of people banding themselves together, and gradually growing, and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generation can carry on where we left off,' Julia responds, 'I'm not interested in the next generation, dear. I'm interested in us.'
Once I got over my initial boredom, the details of the government truly blew my mind, Newspeak being the most notable in my mind. The idea that a government could systematically reduce the number of words in the dictionary so as to limit human speech, and in turn human thought, and in turn human desire, awareness, and knowledge, is so believable and backed up by so many empirical studies of language that it's beyond chilling. The idea that you could narrow down somebody's actual thoughts and way of processing information in such a systematic, straightforward way to achieve your own political agenda is really quite horrifying.
My only complaint besides the opening is the section in which Winston begins reading 'the book', of which's content is relayed in excruciating detail. In a way this section is the grand reveal and full explanation of the society that has been created here, and yet it was revealed in the form of an info dump that was written exactly like a textbook--making it really quite difficult to digest. I really wish this information could have been conveyed in a more reader-friendly way, considering its importance.
This book's overall message and events ultimately did not disappoint; I honestly wish I could sit and pick Orwell's brain, so well-developed and insightful are these ideas. The final fifty pages or so kept me utterly gripped and really drove home the reign of terror the world has been placed under--and, as with Animal Farm, the ending was so sickening in the best possible way.
My first impression of this book was not a promising one: I spent the first thirty pages bored out of my skull despite the chilling setting and ideas being introduced due to its dry, matter-of-fact execution. I also have a bit of a love-hate relationship with dystopian and fantasy novels that introduce the world by throwing readers straight into the action of daily life and leave them to figure out the world they're in. It's probably the most satisfying and rewarding type of introduction, but initially the most laborious. Safe to say I was pretty close to DNFing, since it felt by page 30, everything of interest had been introduced and somehow left me... uninterested--surely a sign of it only being downhill from there.
Of course, things picked up pretty quickly after that with the introduction of Julia, and it was then that the paranoia this society instilled really began to take its effect on me on Winston's behalf. Julia's character in and of itself has also become a topic of much interest to me; I would love to do a complete character study on her. In the midst of this totalitarian government, you expect the catalyst for the main character's pursuing something more to be the rebel prototype--the person who is hellbent on unveiling all the government's lies, in turn overthrowing it and achieving liberty for all, regardless of the risks involved--and yet what we get instead is somebody who, while claiming to detest the government and all its lies, only cares about unveiling the lies and practices that directly affect her. She is otherwise complacent in the belief that everyone hates the Party on a level, and would overthrow it if presented with the opportunity, and thus dismisses (and actually deeply resents the thought of) any notion of an actual organised rebellion. When Winston says, 'I don't believe we can alter anything in our own lifetime. But one can imagine little knots of resistance springing up here and there--small groups of people banding themselves together, and gradually growing, and even leaving a few records behind, so that the next generation can carry on where we left off,' Julia responds, 'I'm not interested in the next generation, dear. I'm interested in us.'
Once I got over my initial boredom, the details of the government truly blew my mind, Newspeak being the most notable in my mind. The idea that a government could systematically reduce the number of words in the dictionary so as to limit human speech, and in turn human thought, and in turn human desire, awareness, and knowledge, is so believable and backed up by so many empirical studies of language that it's beyond chilling. The idea that you could narrow down somebody's actual thoughts and way of processing information in such a systematic, straightforward way to achieve your own political agenda is really quite horrifying.
This book's overall message and events ultimately did not disappoint; I honestly wish I could sit and pick Orwell's brain, so well-developed and insightful are these ideas. The final fifty pages or so kept me utterly gripped and really drove home the reign of terror the world has been placed under--and, as with Animal Farm, the ending was so sickening in the best possible way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, War
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Alcohol
challenging
dark
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:
N/A
this book took me over a month to read, i’m so happy it’s over not gonna lie. i can tell that the author was a genius but really the book just wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Colonisation