Reviews with content warning for Sexual violence - 1984

Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

1984 by Umberto Eco, Miguel Temprano García, George Orwell, George Orwell

102 reviews

smolmeg's review against another edition

1.25

weird book. female characters were written very badly. execution undermined a lot of the morals or underlying messages this book was trying to make.

Content Warnings

coralinejones's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I'm so torn right now.

I always hate disliking beloved books, especially classics and books where the message is very clear and in your face; 1984′s entire theme is living in a dystopian, censored, totalitarian government where said government (see: Big Brother) is quite literally always watching you. This way of society is feeding it’s civilians with propaganda night and day. I totally get it, and that’s the reason I wanted to read this book so badly in the first place. I can link points and themes from this book to modern society, which is what I wanted to do (because I did that while reading "The Hunger Games" and enjoyed it. Same with "Dune" recently. I love reading sci-fi and dystopian novels for this reason). However, I really can’t stand when the narrative of these stories, where the intent and point should circle around those themes entirely, get lost in misogyny, rape fantasizes, boring characters, and long winded passages that don’t feel like they serve a purpose. Don't get me wrong, I 100% get that this book is bleak and isn’t a “fun read” but I do have fun reading dystopian, bleak novels so that’s not really what I’m getting at, here.

I think this would work better as a academic essay of sorts... Like a Ted Talk rather than a novel.

It isn’t even that this book is a chore to read or that I necessarily dislike Orwell’s writing style (it’s not my favorite, anyway) but these problematic traits don’t even progress the book, in my opinion?? I think had he just continued expressing how the government is anti-sex and how sex is a political act without the “I hate women, I want to rape and kill them” the point would’ve still been made… in this specific case the distasteful commentary doesn’t advance the plot or do anything for Winston’s character and makes this book really displeasing in that aspect, not so much how realistic and true this is.

However....! The ending got me. The last few chapters absolutely drilled in the overall theme and I can't help but give this novel 4 stars. I understand why it's beloved and even referenced in modern media 'till this day. I can't give it 5 stars because of the above but I'm absolutely going to be thinking about this book for a long time.

Content Warnings

nicology's review against another edition

4.5

As the cover suggests, an eye-opening, terrifying experience.

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izzydelaya's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

rmphyllis's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark informative 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

Content Warnings

rai_con's review against another edition

3.75

dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

alexisgracev's review against another edition

4.0

challenging mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

manel_'s review against another edition

5.0

dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

In the context of the author's actions, some parts are genuinely concerning and a major turn off.
Having read it without notion of this was however 'enjoyable' and the meaning I took from it was a severely flawed character given his circumstances (and not the self insert it actually is).

Content Warnings

jenmachin_'s review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

olliejay's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book isn't for those looking for pure entertainment. There are moments where it feels like it is droning on with complicated terminology, and a long stretch of narrative about capitalism vs. socialism. However, if you stick through it, you'll find a very complex main character and a high-paced latter half of the book. This is a slow, psychological thriller doused heavily in political commentary.

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