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A review by katykelly
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
5.0
The father, or dare I say it, 'big brother' of all contemporary dystopian novels
I read this at 17 when studying A-Levels, and seeing it recently adapted at the theatre I had a hankering to revisit it, half my life later.
It only grows more impressive with age, it really does. It's a classic for a reason, it's shattering, powerful and absolutely unforgettable.
This audiobook, narrated by the excellent Samuel West, gives us the voice of not only Orwell, but the lowly yet rebellious Winston Smith and those of his oppressors - the Party. A very effective way of accessing the book.
In what may be the dystopian fiction that all others since either build on, imitate or pay homage to, Winston Smith works and lives in the dreary and oppressive world dominated by the Party, who control rations, leisure time, and watch each citizen constantly through state-sanctioned TV screens.
Trying out his own small acts of rebellion, WInston is our eyes and ears on this horrendous world, one only a few steps away from our own.
The whole creation of Winston's society in Oceania, forever at war with one of the other two great powers, is exquisite. We even gain access to inner-Party literature that explains how the officials have organised their systems to oppress and maintain control.
And of course, Orwell is a modern Shakespeare in adding cultural reference points to the language that everybody will know but knot necessarily know the source of - Big Brother, Room 101, thought crime.
One of the most important books you'll ever read, and be thankful it's 'just' a fiction...
I read this at 17 when studying A-Levels, and seeing it recently adapted at the theatre I had a hankering to revisit it, half my life later.
It only grows more impressive with age, it really does. It's a classic for a reason, it's shattering, powerful and absolutely unforgettable.
This audiobook, narrated by the excellent Samuel West, gives us the voice of not only Orwell, but the lowly yet rebellious Winston Smith and those of his oppressors - the Party. A very effective way of accessing the book.
In what may be the dystopian fiction that all others since either build on, imitate or pay homage to, Winston Smith works and lives in the dreary and oppressive world dominated by the Party, who control rations, leisure time, and watch each citizen constantly through state-sanctioned TV screens.
Trying out his own small acts of rebellion, WInston is our eyes and ears on this horrendous world, one only a few steps away from our own.
The whole creation of Winston's society in Oceania, forever at war with one of the other two great powers, is exquisite. We even gain access to inner-Party literature that explains how the officials have organised their systems to oppress and maintain control.
And of course, Orwell is a modern Shakespeare in adding cultural reference points to the language that everybody will know but knot necessarily know the source of - Big Brother, Room 101, thought crime.
One of the most important books you'll ever read, and be thankful it's 'just' a fiction...