1984
Ratings3,860
Average rating4.2
“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.”
An amazing dramatisation. The voices, the music, all of it made my skin crawl at times.
And I find that I like the “movie in your mind” format more and more, especially when it's so marvellously done.
Difficult to review this as I know it's a classic. Ahead of its time but left me feeling unfulfilled... but maybe that's the point?
Spoilers below
About Goldsteins book being in the actual book - I knew this was coming and I was dreading it. 30ish pages taken up detailing Goldsteins book... Would have been easier to digest if it was less repetitive and paraphrased. Also - why did Winston read the entire thing out loud?!
“I wanted to rape you and then murder you afterwards. Two weeks ago I thought seriously of smashing your head in with a cobblestone.“ Julia laughs this comment off...
Empezó un tanto aburrido pero decidí seguir leyendo, ya a la mitad del libro me atrapo no podía dejar de leer, el problema llego como a la mitad de la tercera parte donde empecé a sentir que todo era muy redundante y lo único que quería era que el libro finalmente terminara, el final no me lo esperaba eso si he de admitirlo
Me parece que en términos literarios, no está del todo bien construido, por cosas como que hay una parte, dónde se ponen a explicar literalmente, toda la construcción del mundo que ya se había planteado a lo largo del libro; lo cual en términos narrativos es completamente absurdo; así como otras como la prosa, y la misma construcción del mundo, que es decente hasta cierto punto, pecando en algunos puntos de sacrificar partes de la trama para que se llegara al punto al que Orwell quería llegar.
Creo que lo más interesante de la obra se encuentra en las reflexiones sobre el espíritu humano, la ambición de poder y como nosotros mismos por la última terminamos asfixiando la primera, además de ser una muestra más o menos explícita de como funcionan la mayoría de regímenes autocráticos.
Entonces, en síntesis, como libro, como obra artística literaria, es olvidable. Más sin embargo, como reflexión psicológica, social, política, vaya que sobre lo que nos hace humanos, y los mecanismos de poder que usamos para optimirnos a nosotros mismos y quebrantar lo que nos hace nosotros... está interesante.
It's a very good read. I love the book but the end is shocking and very bleak. it left a very strong impression on me, can't get it out of my thoughts. George Orwell was a genius.
My only 5/5. 1984 is a book that feels so personally impactful in a way that I can't describe, and the fact that it feels this way despite being written almost a century ago in the wake of the end of World War II gives me a perspective on humanity that I never have had before, and this perspective is only magnified and echoed by the narrative of the story.
Below are spoilers. PLEASE don't read them unless you have read the book, or you have absolutely no interest in doing so (which if so you should really reconsider!!)
Winston lives in a society robbed of humanity, and to me, this is something exemplified more than anything else in the story. Yes, there is more of an emphasis on perpetual surveillance for citizens in the descriptions of Oceania (the country that Winston lives in), but the root of not only the problems, but every aspect of the state of their whole world is rooted from an absence of humanity. During the second half of the book, when the state of the world is spelled out to Winston through a black market book written by an enemy of the Party, it is explained that the current state of Oceania (and all societies in the world) came about as a result of class struggle for power. It explained how as people became conscious of the cycle of power being handed from one class to another, there was a widespread need to defeat said struggle by the higher class. The higher class then came up with the Party, which intentionally starves the lower and middle class and keeps them just barely alive and barely educated so that there is no chance of a revolution, and to combat overproduction, which could not be avoided, a state of war that is by design never ending was enacted to spend resources on. The Party crushes any and all opposition, not by simply killing opposition, but by truly convincing them of wrongdoing. Someone convicted of a thoughtcrime (a high offense, I should add) is not left alone until they have truly been convinced otherwise, and the Party gets their way with this. In theory, this system should work, and in practice, it does- but in all of this, every ounce of humanity is lost. It is stated by O'Brien, a Party member, that the object of obtaining power is power. Power is the ultimate goal of the Party, and that is the only end that the Party seeks, and this simple fact articulates the lack of humanity within the Party. So does the narrative of the middle of the story, where Winston falls in love with a woman, and the goal is to keep this fact hidden completely from the government, all while keeping the knowledge that things would definitely end with the both of them being captured and murdered.
I thought I'd like this but I worried it would read a lot more like The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism rather than a compelling fiction. Indeed, things slowed down a bit for me when we got to the reading of Goldstien's book.
Much like Animal Farm I found this book supremely frustrating because the tactics of authoritarianism remain, largely, unchanged to this day. If it weren't banned in so many public school libraries I'd say this book should be required reading for every high school student.
While very craftfully written, this could be a bit of a heavy read. There is a clear depth to writing and the story plays out in three distinct parts - the world build (with themes incredibly far ahead of its time), the love story (which feels a bit dragged out), and the endgame (which is easily the best part). The deep dives into philosophy, psychology, and dystopia are extremely well explored and touches on issues from more angles than the average person should be able to think of. But while the detail of the society, the language, and the inner-workings are extravagant, there is a bit of textbook feel to the flow (not the content) at times.
George Orwell's ‘1984' immerses you in a dystopian future that captivates from the very beginning. The oppressive atmosphere and omnipresent surveillance prompt deep reflections on individual freedom and the power of government.
Orwell's blunt descriptions and emotional intensity make ‘1984' a timeless masterpiece that continues to resonate to this day.
Foarte greu de dat o notă.
La idei și atmosferă, e spectaculoasă, impresionantă și memorabilă.
La execuție literară, cel mult mediocră, plus lungită și, de la jumătate, plictisitoare.
Suma e parcă totuși mai mare decât totalul părților...
A gloomy, dreadful, uncomfortable experience. Left me with questioning existence and traumas. There were shivers running down my spine.
Perhaps this great effect was produced because I listened to a dramatic reading of the book with sound effects and all. I never did that and also it was so much more immersive than I would think it would have been. For most of the time I was listening I was also drawing, I might have missed or excused some of the times the novel was repetitive or the characters a bit bland or how on the whole it felt like an essay and a big moral message rather than an experience. But no matter how better it could have been, it was an experience for me.
There were some spicy times and a couple of times there was pornography mentioned. I was playing the audio out loud, but for some reason I was more concerned about people around hearing me listen to some spicy scene than um whatever part 3 was.
I can't imagine how this could not be part of culture, how it could not be relevant which is sad because that means there are so many ways still that we might experience the world of 1984.
I need to listen to more dramatic readings and read more classics. This is the most frightening way to start the reading year. I did not intend to start it with this book, am I glad I did? Idfk.
I have been trying not to use electronics as much which maybe ties into the whole surveillance thing yike, but no the reason is that I want my eyes to rest. I find that physical books are easier on them.
This is a goldmine for understanding on how much copium and cognitive dissonance certain people who promote “the good values” and “family”, etc. are. This book uses very funny sounding words for their techniques.
Read this when you want to get scared or question your life choices, this is one of those reads that might change you.
This book was incredibly boring, I don't even know why I finished it. I think I was hoping it would get better but it didn't. Oh well, at least I added a finished book to 2024.
I taught 1984 for a few years, and I always found some new trenchant critique of society with each fresh reading and year of teaching. It's kind of a failed novel; the plot is bad, and the characters are pretty bad. However, it functions marvelously as a series of essays disguised as a novel. The middle third does drag a little. The plot and the characters exist to justify world-building that critiques a new "mode of oppression" with every chapter: tribalism and weaponized hate; propaganda and censorship; manipulation and erasure of truth; etc.
It's far from perfect. It can be wooden and inaccessible, but can required reading be, like, four stars?
Wastes writing space lasciviously (baffling, really, considering Orwell's editor's nitpicks). Very on-the-nose. To work oneself into polishing the cross-referencing urbanism formulated in one's prose only to demolish it within mere pages is worthy of parodical accord. Tugs the reader with it's not-so-subtle seeds. Left me with zilch compulsion or feeling of having been compelled. Works it way with decency due to my sufficient interest in its landscape and secondary characters.
Un libro que logra advertir de cierta forma que somos más controlables de lo que aparentamos y que, a pesar de ser una distopía se encuentran muchas similitudes con la realidad. Además plantea métodos de control y disminución de libertades que nunca había pensado como tal, por ejemplo, todo el tema de la limitación del lenguaje :)
The Big Brother Is Always Watching...
WHAT THE FUCK, THIS NOVEL IS FAR
BEYOND PERFECTION. I REALLY GOT HEAVY EXSESTENTIAL CRISIS READING IT.
How can someone be so creative writing this. This novel took me into another world, a world of the author's imagination. But it actually made sense. Everyone had their intentions and motives perfectly right.
I can't describe enough how good this was. I could resonate with this novel so much. And I felt every bit of detail. The author made a really great job making this not just a novel but a whole masterpeice.
This novel can be teached in universities, the psychological side and politics side were really astonishing, nearly 90% of what the brothers did to control the country, was already some stratgies that major countries use right now. Thank you, George.
War is peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength'
This is a considerably better book than Brave New World, but also far sillier and less realistic. Fahrenheit 451 is better than both.