A review by filipa_maia
1984 by George Orwell

dark reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was so hard to read! I almost gave it up two out three times... I've read 'Animal Farm', and quite liked it, so I was expecting something similar. But, oh boy, was I wrong... I've found this book really slow paced, long descriptive chapters, so much details describing things that have zero input in the overall narrative.

The story gains momentum when Winston meets Julia and the readers know that is not going to end well. When is actually getting interesting, the story is cut by tons of pages of Goldstein's book (that I skipped forward). The final part was, in my opinion, the best. Witnessing the way O'Brien breaks Winston's mind (and body), and the way Winston fights back. That's brilliant! That's the book I was expecting!

I understand that the first chapters, those big descriptions of that society, are essential to put the reader in the right mindset. But I think that they are way to long and slow and take away the beauty of the ending. I was so bored and eager for the book to end that I couldn't enjoy the ending as much as I would like.
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