Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - 1984

Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

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

248 reviews

novembers_witch's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Content Warnings

shaleen64's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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: Complicated

Content Warnings

ashteroids's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

“Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.”

A nauseating yet necessary read. If you told me this book was written yesterday, I’d fully believe you. Of course that was the point, but it’s still horrifying how comparable it is to our current political climate.

It’s unsettling, realistic, defeating, crushing, and so very heartbreaking. I felt sick and emotional throughout, and now that I’ve finished it, even though it’s been a few hours I’m left with sadness and unease, and still finding myself crying thinking about it.

This is one of those books that are typically in high school curriculums, but I am so glad I read it for the first time as an adult at 26. I don’t think I would’ve fully understood and appreciated the impact this book has when I was a teenager, and most likely wouldn’t have returned to it. And if you had read it when you were in high school, reread it. I may need to come back to this book myself.

Content Warnings

amessina3399's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

To nobody's surprise, this book is absolutely brilliant. Poignant, thoughtful, and scarily timely in this current era, this book is a total page-turner that keeps you invested in the characters, as well as the political landscape of this dystopian world. 1984 will both devastate you and leave you better than before you read it. That all being said, this book is quite heady and at times dense, especially when it's diving into the sociological explanations and implications of the world. But if you can get through those moments with curiosity and your whole-hearted attention, you'll find absolutely genius storytelling and a wonderfully, horrifyingly realistic world.

Content Warnings

abigailadams's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

suzette03's review against another edition

4.5

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

matty_joe319's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

When I read this book in high-school it was - I'll be honest - a bit of a snooze-fest. I don't know whether that's the format or the fact that it was in school or the fact that I was a 17-year-old whose brain hadn't finished developing yet. But good god - the format of this elevates the story so well, adding to the intensity while still honoring the actual content and commentary. The actors are of course phenomenal, but what really blew me away was the sound design. What can be a very technical and sometimes overly intellectual book becomes extremely visceral and immersive, turning a dystopian novel into something that felt more like horror. There are definitely some passages that wax poetic for a while, and some philosophizing moments that drag a bit, but that was a complaint I had of the original book just as much, if not more. Overall, such a cool format, such an excellently produced adaptation - from performances to production - and such a unique experience.

Content Warnings

grinsekotze's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

pixiigirl's review against another edition

5.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Listened to this in one sitting start to finish because it grabbed my attention so much, and as someone with ADHD this never happens so I was very pleasantly surprised.

Content Warnings

pensandpicks's review against another edition

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

Content Warnings

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