1984 is one of those novels I have intended to read for years, and had never gotten around to. However, I finally managed to get to it, for better or for worse. Orwell's dystopian novel has left me feeling rather prosaic, and I'm not quite sure how to express my feelings regarding the text. In the simplest terms, I didn't like the novel; but I don't think I was supposed to. And I certainly don't regret taking the time to read it. ( )

As the story progressed, I became more and more horrified and uncomfortable. And that is, I think, Orwell’s purpose. 1984 is not meant to be a comfortable book.

Winston Smith lives in a 1984 much different than the 1984 we really lived in. In his society, IngSoc (English Socialism) is the prevailing way of life and Big Brother is always watching for deviations from acceptable behavior via “telescreens.” There is little privacy and no freedoms. Your life is only lived for the party’s needs.

Orwell indicated that 1984 was meant as an extreme example of the dangers of perverse totalitarianism. While 1984 had some flaws, it was still a chilling reminder of what “totalitarian” means. In the end, Winston was forced in to a sort of insane half-life: a life in which he could never have any personal convictions.

I hated the ending, I hated the forced betrayal, and I hated the government of Big Brother. And I think that’s the point.

More detailed review on my blog

A true modern classic. A chilling look into a bleak future that is all too achievable. The section on Newspeak (the language used by the regime of 1984) was particularly breath taking. Even today, we can see how our own language is being shaped in order to mold our way of thinking. ( )

I've been getting round to reading 1984 since about 1984. Okay, slight exaggeration. Since about 1994. It's one of those books that you feel you know, even if you haven't read it, because the concepts and terminology are so much a part of popular culture and consciousness - so when I finally did read it I wasn't surprised to find that there were no surprises.

Orwell's portrayal of the mechanics of totalitarianism is masterly, and, particularly regarding the way the media was and continues to be used by governments, creepily so. Sixty years after it was written, it's plausible enough to be disconcerting, even frightening. It is a work of genius, although I couldn't help thinking it needed a little more oomph or action or something in places to be as great a novel as it is political statement and cultural icon.

4½ out of 5

(And I admit to chuckling at the statement "THE AUTHORITATIVE TEXT" at the foot of the blurb on this Penguin Modern Classics edition. Oh, the irony.) ( )

A futuristic tale of what the world is like in 1984 with Big Brother watching and people getting arrested for just thinking something bad and/or going against Big Brother.

After finishing it made me very glad that I was not born in the 1984 represented in this book, where children were often taken from their parents and raised in a group home to think pure and live a pure and unquestioning lifestyle to a very extreme sense.

The idea that “Big Brother” decides that books and newspapers need to be changed based their beliefs seems so unreal but very futuristic. That with a click of a button history changes to the point where people don’t even remember what day it is or what even really happened in the history books before they were changed. Dictionaries were wittled down to a handful of words that could be used to describe everything, therefore elimitating all elements of impure thoughts and deeds from peoples minds because there is just no word for it.

It’s always interesting reading futuristic stories and seeing how different the world really is. In movie form, this would be 2001: A Space Odyssey. While “newspeak” now isn’t how Orwell describes, we still have our own form. Like one review on Amazon says, we have our own version of shorthand with texting abreviations like LOL, L8R, etc. It is nearly the same thing and transforming kids using it, changing their form of dictionary into one that is not recognizable to the older generations.