You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Yes, it's a classic, but it's been reworked, redone, and nodded to by so many other stories, I felt like I had already heard this story countless times before. It's funny how too many tributes and copies can retract from the original! Still, I can see how this book would have been groundbreaking in its time - the world of 1984 is really the star, more than the main character. The book describes a man's coming to rebel against a dystopian state in which privacy, freedom of thought, speech, press, etc, do not exist and propoganda and brainwashing are paraded as truth.
Quien diría que de aquí salió la idea del reality jsjsj.
La historia es interesante. Scary lo mucho que se parece a norcorea. Y puede que “it’s not about that” pero de repente si está bien misógino.
La historia es interesante. Scary lo mucho que se parece a norcorea. Y puede que “it’s not about that” pero de repente si está bien misógino.
I will be honest that I originally was annoyed at what I thought was cheap socialism bashing and blatant sexism that was both distracting and disturbing. I was right about the sexism, but the more I read of the book the more I believed that it is actually a thoughtful consideration of authoritarianism.
I breezed through most of the book believing that this doublethink stuff was ridiculous and farfetched, and it wasn't until I was reading the afterword (by Erich Fromm; very well-written) that I realized that I myself engage daily in doublethink without hesitation; I live in a society whose practices I don't agree with but that I dutifully follow because I feel I have no other choice. Isn't that the success of doublethink in an abusive society? In fact this is a point I wish 1984 would have made more clearly; with only one main character who interacts with 2.5 people throughout the book, we don't get to see everyday people accepting their role as part of the machine.
At the beginning of the book I was annoyed because I felt the author was trying to put capitalism on a pedestal, but towards the end of the book we get to see more of the power-based theory behind Ingsoc that is undoubtedly relevant to today's politics, or relevant to any power-hungry society. O'Brien explains that as the society gains more power it will only get more controlling, not less; this rang too true to me today. He describes power as the end goal, not a means to an end. He describes the way that a military-industrial complex props up the party in power while simultaneously draining the economy to create false scarcity. And of course, "truth" as being malleable and subjective. And the book ends with Ingsoc's complete, unavoidable power.
One more note about the sexism: when Julia asks Winston what he thought of her when he first saw her, he says "I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards" (p123). *And we're supposed to think that Winston is the normal human being in this book.* I just can't say enough how horrifying this is. In a quite interesting book about authoritarianism, Orwell unnecessary shits on women throughout, giving Julia the role of "sex companion" who is interested in Winston for reasons we'll never know; who was promiscuous until she met Winston but then at random decided to change; who is clever and cunning when it comes to getaways, but can't possibly be bright enough to read a book on her own. Smart, thoughtful representations of women belong *everywhere*, including this book.
I breezed through most of the book believing that this doublethink stuff was ridiculous and farfetched, and it wasn't until I was reading the afterword (by Erich Fromm; very well-written) that I realized that I myself engage daily in doublethink without hesitation; I live in a society whose practices I don't agree with but that I dutifully follow because I feel I have no other choice. Isn't that the success of doublethink in an abusive society? In fact this is a point I wish 1984 would have made more clearly; with only one main character who interacts with 2.5 people throughout the book, we don't get to see everyday people accepting their role as part of the machine.
At the beginning of the book I was annoyed because I felt the author was trying to put capitalism on a pedestal, but towards the end of the book we get to see more of the power-based theory behind Ingsoc that is undoubtedly relevant to today's politics, or relevant to any power-hungry society. O'Brien explains that as the society gains more power it will only get more controlling, not less; this rang too true to me today. He describes power as the end goal, not a means to an end. He describes the way that a military-industrial complex props up the party in power while simultaneously draining the economy to create false scarcity. And of course, "truth" as being malleable and subjective. And the book ends with Ingsoc's complete, unavoidable power.
One more note about the sexism: when Julia asks Winston what he thought of her when he first saw her, he says "I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards" (p123). *And we're supposed to think that Winston is the normal human being in this book.* I just can't say enough how horrifying this is. In a quite interesting book about authoritarianism, Orwell unnecessary shits on women throughout, giving Julia the role of "sex companion" who is interested in Winston for reasons we'll never know; who was promiscuous until she met Winston but then at random decided to change; who is clever and cunning when it comes to getaways, but can't possibly be bright enough to read a book on her own. Smart, thoughtful representations of women belong *everywhere*, including this book.
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The atmosphere was horrifying to an incredible amount of detail. It is very obvious that an insane amount of research and thought went into this book. It’s a vitally important cautionary tale that I think everyone should read. The depth and amount of layers this book has makes me think this should be a required reading. It so accurately describes what power is and how to keep it and mold it. It is totalitarianism perfected.
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i think this was an incredibly enjoyable listen and well done dramatization of 1984. i haven't read the actual novel in its entirety since high school and know some portions are missing from this highly abbreviated dramatization. however, i feel this audiobook shone in bringing all the key elements of the text and immersing the listener into the world of the story. the production budget was clearly like one trillion dollars with all the superstar names in the cast, the incredible audio quality, beautiful direction, and overall excellent feel of the audiobook. that also made it feel so speedy quick to get through and i felt myself wanting to get back into it in a really lovely way. my only complaint would be that it felt like the story set up was really rich and fully developed and the fall to insanity was quick as hell. comparative to the (albeit very little) i remember from high school, i feel like the breakdown of winston and his turn to loving big brother happened wayyyyy quicker in this book. i wonder if it is because they wanted to not harp on the torture? but i think working through how someone so supposedly smart fell to such propaganda *IS* the whole point. for that reason, despite it being really well produced and done, i feel like i can only give it 3.75 or 4 stars because i was missing such a key element. i also feel that the world of big brother was not built up as much as it possibly could be. so i am going to go with 3.75 stars. but i genuinely enjoyed this listen so mcuh and would probs re-listen again! really great !!
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
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
(Spoiler Warning)
The fact that the main character was doomed from the beginning is possibly my favourite story type, especially when I don’t know that that’s what’s going to happen.
The fact that the main character was doomed from the beginning is possibly my favourite story type, especially when I don’t know that that’s what’s going to happen.
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes