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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Upgrading to four stars because I can't stop thinking about this one.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, War
After it was the subject of a recent In Our Time I read 1984 (again as the battered look of my copy should make obvious). It is a brilliant work of thinking, which masquerades as relatively straightforward novel. Its most intellectually thrilling elements are those concerned with language and the way Orwell uses Newspeak as a concept to make some brilliant points about how language shapes thinking, and the appendix is probably the most interesting element of the whole book. In that as in Handmaid's Tale it hints at the eventual failure of this system. It is limited as a novel, reeks of sexism and most of its minor characters are little more than pawns to be deployed for an argument (as Ben Pimlott points out in this version's introduction), but it is nonetheless one of the most impressive, important and thrilling pieces of writing of the 20th Century
dark
reflective
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:
Yes
Hatade den absolut inte lika mycket som Lovisa. Kan inte riktigt säga att jag ser hennes poäng. Den var till och med bra.
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever."
This is grim, very much so. I think I knew it from the start. It's just that you kind of hope that something changes, that somehow, Winston would be the catalyst. It seemed so much that there were people who were against the Party, after all. It was a filthy feeling, finding out O'Brien and Mr. Charrington were Thought Police.
And even as both Julia and Winston get captured, tortured, you're somewhat still out there hoping. But George takes that hope and crushes it with the heel of his boot, grounds it into dust, the way O'Brien tramples on Winston's humanity so completely that he becomes nothing but a shadow. It's so bleak, I almost hated it. I guess in the end, this serves as a warning to readers. A dictatorship so absolute, a power that turns all citizens against one another. It's horrifying to imagine.
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes