1984: 75th Anniversary
1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. "1984" is still the great modern classic "negative Utopia" - a startling original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from the first sentence to the last four words. No one can deny this novel's power, its hold on the imagination of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions - a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.
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Community Reviews
This book wasn't riveting in that it was a page-turner or anything, though it was interesting enough. There's a bit in the middle that's especially slow, though I think Orwell timed the moment of capture very well. Right in the middle of all this slowness, just when you start to think the book is getting boring, everything changes. This is a book you read for the idea of it rather than the actual feeling of reading it.
That being said, I say this book deserves the hype it gets. To have it be so relevant today when it was written so long ago is impressive. Many of the 'dystopian' parts are quite relatable. The telescreens, for example, remind me of the targeted ads you get from your phone collecting your data, or how the FBI used a single t-shirt to track down a protestor from a video online. Being unable to speak against the government and to have all content censored is basically a description of China right now. And the authority figure of Big Brother being somehow an immortal superhuman reminds me strongly of North Korea. This book is a message about power and what people will do to keep their power.
I'd recommend it... if I didn't think that basically everyone has at least heard of this book, and many have read it as well.
PS This book strangely reminded me of Jesus Camp actually...
That being said, I say this book deserves the hype it gets. To have it be so relevant today when it was written so long ago is impressive. Many of the 'dystopian' parts are quite relatable. The telescreens, for example, remind me of the targeted ads you get from your phone collecting your data, or how the FBI used a single t-shirt to track down a protestor from a video online. Being unable to speak against the government and to have all content censored is basically a description of China right now. And the authority figure of Big Brother being somehow an immortal superhuman reminds me strongly of North Korea. This book is a message about power and what people will do to keep their power.
I'd recommend it... if I didn't think that basically everyone has at least heard of this book, and many have read it as well.
PS This book strangely reminded me of Jesus Camp actually...
Could not get into reading this classic. As bleak as trudging through waste deep mud on a rainy night .
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