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A review by willjacks
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
3.0
This is certainly a classic, with it being so well-written and conveying timeless themes.
I saved reading this for the right time. Everyone is aware of this book’s existence, and I certainly knew having read Huxley’s BNW and Zamyatin’s We before getting to it. I feel as though I’ve read and consumed a lot of media inspired by this book. Pretty much every dystopian hellscape takes notes from this book, it would be difficult not to.
However.
I finally got round to reading it, and I found it just soooo simple. The first third was brilliant, exactly what I was expecting. But by the 9th chapter of part 2, the book just felt like a long-winded political essay. The ‘surprising’ element involving a character thought of as a friend (I won’t spoil it), just felt so blindingly obvious???
I understand exactly what Orwell was trying to say, and a novel can spread his worry about the political landscapes of the 40s more than any essay could, but I just wasn’t invested in any characters major or minor. I go for books with impeccable narratives and characters. This lacked neither of those things.
I enjoyed the political message, the world the characters are situated in and the permeating sense of unease and paranoia. I just think that the narrative and characters are more approachable and watertight in Orwell’s Animal Farm, a hugely shorter and more concise ‘children’s tale.’
It’s a book that warns its readers, I understand the weight of its importance etc. But I’ll be more likely to re-read BNW or Animal Farm. They aren’t as dry and they don’t over-explain.
I saved reading this for the right time. Everyone is aware of this book’s existence, and I certainly knew having read Huxley’s BNW and Zamyatin’s We before getting to it. I feel as though I’ve read and consumed a lot of media inspired by this book. Pretty much every dystopian hellscape takes notes from this book, it would be difficult not to.
However.
I finally got round to reading it, and I found it just soooo simple. The first third was brilliant, exactly what I was expecting. But by the 9th chapter of part 2, the book just felt like a long-winded political essay. The ‘surprising’ element involving a character thought of as a friend (I won’t spoil it), just felt so blindingly obvious???
I understand exactly what Orwell was trying to say, and a novel can spread his worry about the political landscapes of the 40s more than any essay could, but I just wasn’t invested in any characters major or minor. I go for books with impeccable narratives and characters. This lacked neither of those things.
I enjoyed the political message, the world the characters are situated in and the permeating sense of unease and paranoia. I just think that the narrative and characters are more approachable and watertight in Orwell’s Animal Farm, a hugely shorter and more concise ‘children’s tale.’
It’s a book that warns its readers, I understand the weight of its importance etc. But I’ll be more likely to re-read BNW or Animal Farm. They aren’t as dry and they don’t over-explain.