I was reading this with my friend an ended up shelving it for a few weeks while I waited for her to catch up a bit. I don't know if that was a mistake or not but I can definitively say that I didn't particularly enjoy this book.
When I read the introductory remarks about how Orwell was inspired by books like Brave New World and others like it I was really excited. I love Brave New World and We and other books like it, so besides all the hype around 1984 if it came from such great inspiration it must be good. Right?
I found the style unimaginative and droll. The story lagged and felt like it was a car that was stalled. Although I didn't expect all the great betrayals that happened it still felt predictable. Orwell makes it seem as though there is a certain level of pain which you cannot surpass and rise up against. I feel like that was, philosophically, the place he went the most wrong with this book. His assumption that the proletariat could never truly rise up against big brother. I did, however, find the editing of the past very interesting as well as the parties slogans.
I really felt before I read this book that it is just one of those books that you're suppose to read. If you are thinking of picking it up I would instead read something that was not written at the end of someone's life and was rushed into being. Brave New World is a better book with better underlying structure on the same subject matter. I would recommend it 1000 times over 1984.
Overall very disappointing. I rate it a 4 out of 10. I wouldn't read it again.
When I read the introductory remarks about how Orwell was inspired by books like Brave New World and others like it I was really excited. I love Brave New World and We and other books like it, so besides all the hype around 1984 if it came from such great inspiration it must be good. Right?
I found the style unimaginative and droll. The story lagged and felt like it was a car that was stalled. Although I didn't expect all the great betrayals that happened it still felt predictable. Orwell makes it seem as though there is a certain level of pain which you cannot surpass and rise up against. I feel like that was, philosophically, the place he went the most wrong with this book. His assumption that the proletariat could never truly rise up against big brother. I did, however, find the editing of the past very interesting as well as the parties slogans.
I really felt before I read this book that it is just one of those books that you're suppose to read. If you are thinking of picking it up I would instead read something that was not written at the end of someone's life and was rushed into being. Brave New World is a better book with better underlying structure on the same subject matter. I would recommend it 1000 times over 1984.
Overall very disappointing. I rate it a 4 out of 10. I wouldn't read it again.
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