Reviews - 1984 | The StoryGraph

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41.4k reviews for:

1984

George Orwell

4.05 AVERAGE

macepap's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

ali_20's review against another edition

3.5

reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

sea_anenome27's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark sad 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

miserati's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional informative tense

nicoleackroyd's review against another edition

4.0

challenging tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

iammoony's review against another edition

5.0

ما می‌دونیم که هیچ‌کس قدرت رو با این هدف تصاحب نمی‌کنه که ازش دست بکشه. قدرت وسیله نیست، هدفه. آدم حکومت دیکتاتوری راه نمیندازه که از انقلاب محافظت کنه؛ آدم انقلاب راه میندازه که حکومت دیکتاتوری درست کنه. هدف از آزار دادن آزار دادنه. هدف از شکنجه شکنجه دادنه. هدف از قدرت قدرت داشتنه.

quep00's review against another edition

3.5

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

joesbooks's review against another edition

4.5

reflective

wokstar99's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious 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: Yes

"But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."

1984 will always have a special place in my heart. I first read it in my freshman year of high school simply because I saw the upperclassmen's projects on propaganda based on 1984, and I wanted to read the book that inspired those projects. It was my introduction to a dystopia, and I was hooked. I finally decided to re-read it, and it holds up incredibly well in my opinion. It is a classic that touches on classism, authoritarianism, a surveillance state, and the power of keeping yourself informed.

"Oranges and lemons
Say the bells of St. Clement's
You owe me five farthings
Say the bells of St. Martin's
… When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey
When I grow rich
Say the bells of Shoreditch
… And when will that be?
Say the bells of Stepney
Oh, I do not know
Say the great bells of Bow
… Here comes a candle
To light you to bed
And here comes a chopper
To chop off your head"

Mini rant about how underdeveloped the female characters were:

Now, as much as I love 1984, there are some issues I had with it, mainly Julia--she is woefully underdeveloped, and most of her character comes from how she looks. We know she has had multiple affairs, yet I don't believe it was ever stated WHY she loves Winston? What about him made her risk the thought police? She obviously didn't care for her previous lovers since she herself stated it was good when one of them killed himself because that protected her from being caught. She rarely has any interest in what Winston is saying and will either fall asleep or argue for the sake of being contrarian. I wish she was more fleshed out as a character since I believe she is 1 of 3 named female characters in the novel, one being Mrs. Parsons who is barely in the novel and is mainly described as being overrun by her own children, another being Winstons wife Katherine, whom all we know is that she despises sex, is dumb, and completely orthodox. The other female characters who are unnamed (I believe) is the Prole sex worker, the prole woman who is always singing and doing laundry (she is also described as most likely having many children and grandchildren), and the Parsons' young daughter who turned her dad into the thought police. Most of the women are characterized by their proximity to sex and child rearing and there is not much else for their characters (besides the Parson's daughter but she is barely a character anyways). There are many male characters in the novel who are quite varied in who they are and what their interests are but the female characters all seem pigeon-holed.

Content Warnings

annaweijs's review against another edition

5.0

doubleplusgood

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