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A review by sincere_mammoth
The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwell's 1984 by Dorian Lynskey
5.0
More so than any other dystopian novel, 1984 has taken on a life of its own. It is very likely you already know of Big Brother, telescreens, and Room 101 control long before you ever read the book, if you even have.
But when I read 1984 myself a year or so ago, what struck me most was not these concepts but the book's love and fear for the very idea of truth. There is objective truth out there, but Orwell knew that if we were not careful, governments could undermine truth so thoroughly that it becomes replaced by a manufactured truth of its own making. When Winston, in his job at the Ministry of Truth, helps to eradicate facts that would prove the government's lies, I was chilled to the bone. And I was even more horrified to realize that if I had read 1984 in high school like most people, I would have read it at a time when 1984's warning would have come off as irrelevant to the modern age.
I've read a lot of dystopian novels, but very few come even close to 1984 or Animal Farm. I think it's because Orwell understood that what is truly terrifying about fascism and totalitarianism is not the surveillance or the weapons or the twisted utilization of technology, but the simple truth that our understanding of reality or our basic instinct to care for our fellow human beings can be easily and thoroughly manipulated and eradicated if we are not careful. That is the reason why Orwell's warnings are so timeless: big or small, technological or undeveloped, pious or agnostic, that manipulation can happen anywhere, any time. And, if our current age shows anything, it can sneak up on you so quietly you won't realize it's there until it's all around you.
But when I read 1984 myself a year or so ago, what struck me most was not these concepts but the book's love and fear for the very idea of truth. There is objective truth out there, but Orwell knew that if we were not careful, governments could undermine truth so thoroughly that it becomes replaced by a manufactured truth of its own making. When Winston, in his job at the Ministry of Truth, helps to eradicate facts that would prove the government's lies, I was chilled to the bone. And I was even more horrified to realize that if I had read 1984 in high school like most people, I would have read it at a time when 1984's warning would have come off as irrelevant to the modern age.
I've read a lot of dystopian novels, but very few come even close to 1984 or Animal Farm. I think it's because Orwell understood that what is truly terrifying about fascism and totalitarianism is not the surveillance or the weapons or the twisted utilization of technology, but the simple truth that our understanding of reality or our basic instinct to care for our fellow human beings can be easily and thoroughly manipulated and eradicated if we are not careful. That is the reason why Orwell's warnings are so timeless: big or small, technological or undeveloped, pious or agnostic, that manipulation can happen anywhere, any time. And, if our current age shows anything, it can sneak up on you so quietly you won't realize it's there until it's all around you.