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A review by ttnnllrr
1984 by George Orwell
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
While this classic was very interesting and thought provoking in my opinion, it is entirely NOT accessible and really hard to get through. (This is the reason for the .25 markdown)
If you prefer the plot to move quickly and the details to be concise, not sure this is your kind of book. I thought of this book as a sort of thought experiment and a case study on what could have happened if the totalitarian governments (popular at the time it was first published) would have stuck, which helped me get into the book more easily, since I felt like it was more of a learning opportunity rather than simply for entertainment.
Oceania is a terrifying concept. It is also terrifying to think of how some of the ideas are still relevant in today’s society, like the use of technology to monitor consumers, though not NEARLY as abused. (Thankfully)
The entire ending threw me for a loop, it was disturbingand i definitely didn’t expect to see Winston released, for him to ‘finally’ love Big Brother, and for Ingsoc to win in the end. I was hoping it wouldn’t, at least…
I’m a big fan of linguistics, so the annexe about Newspeak was so interesting to me, the fact that they use the language to change the way people think or rather, what they are capable of thinking about…
Overall, I had to reread some parts to actually understand what it was I was reading, it felt like I was reading a really intriguing textbook at times, but I will be thinking about this book until the day I die and that’s really all I want from literature.
If you prefer the plot to move quickly and the details to be concise, not sure this is your kind of book. I thought of this book as a sort of thought experiment and a case study on what could have happened if the totalitarian governments (popular at the time it was first published) would have stuck, which helped me get into the book more easily, since I felt like it was more of a learning opportunity rather than simply for entertainment.
Oceania is a terrifying concept. It is also terrifying to think of how some of the ideas are still relevant in today’s society, like the use of technology to monitor consumers, though not NEARLY as abused. (Thankfully)
The entire ending threw me for a loop, it was disturbing
I’m a big fan of linguistics, so the annexe about Newspeak was so interesting to me, the fact that they use the language to change the way people think or rather, what they are capable of thinking about…
Overall, I had to reread some parts to actually understand what it was I was reading, it felt like I was reading a really intriguing textbook at times, but I will be thinking about this book until the day I die and that’s really all I want from literature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Torture