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A review by krys_kilz
1984 by George Orwell
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am still mulling over this book. There is so much. I will definitely need to read it again, perhaps even multiple times, to better understand everything Orwell is laying out here.
Update: Upon some reflection, this book has really stuck with me since reading it. The analysis of language and the written word, the manipulation of memory and the past, and the movement of power and the surveillance state... they were all such incredible frameworks for understanding the worlds we live within. It was incredible to me that analysis from the 1940's was still so sharp and applicable to the present. This was a book that really encouraged the reader to ask questions and reflect.
With all that said, the book was heavily misogynistic. Winston's character said a lot of horrible things and Julia's character was basically treated like a manic pixie dream girl. I don't think these flaws should be excused and instead should be met with rigorous critique.
The ending was also very bleak, which some people may have a problem with. I personally didn't mind it so much because I felt like it captured the feeling Orwell was writing from - that deep hopelessness and despair, the anti-utopia as discussed in Erich Fromm's afterward.
Overall, this was a book where you take what you need and compost the rest. And even with it's many faults, I think there was still a lot to hold onto.
Update: Upon some reflection, this book has really stuck with me since reading it. The analysis of language and the written word, the manipulation of memory and the past, and the movement of power and the surveillance state... they were all such incredible frameworks for understanding the worlds we live within. It was incredible to me that analysis from the 1940's was still so sharp and applicable to the present. This was a book that really encouraged the reader to ask questions and reflect.
With all that said, the book was heavily misogynistic. Winston's character said a lot of horrible things and Julia's character was basically treated like a manic pixie dream girl. I don't think these flaws should be excused and instead should be met with rigorous critique.
The ending was also very bleak, which some people may have a problem with. I personally didn't mind it so much because I felt like it captured the feeling Orwell was writing from - that deep hopelessness and despair, the anti-utopia as discussed in Erich Fromm's afterward.
Overall, this was a book where you take what you need and compost the rest. And even with it's many faults, I think there was still a lot to hold onto.
"We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Torture, Violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, and War
Minor: Rape