1984 Review

Title: 1984
Author: George Orwell
Publisher: Signet
Genre: Science Fiction, Classics

Blurb: (from goodreads) The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "negative utopia" -a startlingly 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 the novel's hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions -a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time. 



Me: I do not know if I truly understand this book, but it is one of the most terrifying, mind-boggling books I have ever read. The critique of society is absolutely genius.

The Ups: There is a reason that "Orwellian" is a word. The writing and chilling insight of George Orwell in this novel is beyond words.
As a coherent story, this book may not be the best. It lacks interesting plot in some parts of the story, and it tends to get a bit repetitive. However, I think it's important to think of this book as not necessarily a high-quality novel, but rather a crucial critique on our society.
If this critique had been written plainly, with just statements like "Dictators are bad. Pay attention people. Don't let this happen.", it would probably have been very cynical, dry, and too salty for my taste.
However, with statements like

and propaganda like this poster: 

the context in which this story takes place becomes chillingly close to reality. As I read this book, I had to put it down a number of times just to contemplate the absolute magnitude of what the story was saying. Is it not just terrifying? And the scariest part is it is not that different (in some aspects) of the world we see today, and this book was written in 1949!!!!

*spoiler alert* THE LAST PART OF THE BOOK. Oh my gosh, that part just KILLED ME. Even he was changed, and witnessing that was just...ooh...goosebumps. 

The Downs: Again, it's not super entertaining in a story sense. It did take me a while to read, but it takes a while to fully digest all the symbols and genius predictions. However, I think it's important to look at this book as something to learn from and something to absorb, because looking at it from that viewpoint it becomes much easier and enjoyable as a reader. 

Overall: Chilling classic critiquing society while predicting an almost reality. Genius. 

Rating: 4 stars!