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Summary: A haunting blueprint for oppression
Review: This book is a great read, but is also quite disheartening. The society described in the book is inconceivable to some, but it's hard to argue that we aren't moving in that direction. I challenge anyone to disagree after reading this with an open mind.The highlight of the book is a manifesto that the main character, Winston Smith, must read. It shows Orwell's ingenious insight to mankind's role in it's own oppression. I couldn't help but agree with so much of what was said, at the same time realizing how much it seemed to trivialize the work of all civil rights activists. Highly recommended, particularly if you enjoyed stories such as "V for Vendetta" or movies like "American History X" and "The Matrix".
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Summary: The Greatest Book I Have Ever Read
Review: Somehow, 1984 strikes a nerve deeper than any other book I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Its ideas the ideas of its main character, Wilson, as well as its author, George Orwell, provide a deep perception into the organization of modern politics. All generations can enjoy this story, a story that will definitely never go out of date. It's characters are identifiable and its ending, one as shocking as any, provides a look at the life that Wilson must lead, and the life that many of the stroy's readers go through every day.
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Summary: Comment on review
Review: The main theme isn't a love story by far,it's suppression and total control, it's a doom scenario. It's difficult to say anything new, after having read a couple of reviews, they all say the same. I would like to add that the writing style is boring, it isn't a book that you would read none stop. It is however a "contemporary" warning for the dangers of information control that is becoming more and more an issue of today. Read it, for it is a classic and a warning. 5 stars for the contents -1 star for the style
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Summary: Garbage and other phrases...
Review: Give me a break. The writing was lousy, the concepts and ideas were questionable...sorry, but one star is pushing this book. Orwell underestimated the human animal and its tenacity in the face of oppression...his complete and utter takeover of society w/ "Big Brother" just wouldn't last, even if it could happen. People have oral histories...ones you cannot erradicate...just ask various peoples around the world who survived oppression despite attempts at stopping their stories and changing their cultures. Let Orwell's work die as a curiosity...
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Summary: Highly impacting
Review: This book is incredible and terrifying, it is well-written and the topic is highly salient to our time. This is about more than communism, but about humanity. If you have read We, by Yvegeny Zamyatin, you really must read 1984. (I, for some reason, read them in that order) I would say that 1984 is the superior. Erich Fromm's afterword is worthwhile, additionally, it is quite short and readable.
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Summary: Not according to schedule, but maybe someday?
Review: Could it still happen? The ultimate totalitarian state that Orwell foresaw? Not in every detail but *1984* got ahold of my imagination to such an extent that it still gives me the willies to contemplate. It's almost a shame Orwell didn't name the book "2034" or "2084" so that literal-minded school boards could still make it required reading. It's a masterpiece and remains to be one. The story of Winston Smith's battle to keep his individuality and integrity will not grow old.
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Summary: The best book you should read, but don't in High School
Review: Across the country there is a travesty going on. High School teachers are requiring students to read Animal Farm by George Orwell. By the same author there is a much finer example of satire and the multiple levels Orwell attached to each of his books. Nineteen Eighty-Four is simply one of the best books written this century. It approaches a subject matter, Communism, attacks it and then inadvertantly exposes a greater meaning and truth, the essence of freedom. Orwell meant 1984 to be an attack on Russia and what would happen if Stalin and Lenin won. It trascended that and became a handbook for freedom. If anyone doesn't come out a Libertarian after reading this book, they didn't read it close enough. One of the many books that will be on classic reading lists for centuries to come.
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Summary: 1984- Another Well Written Book By George Orwell
Review: George Orwell has written another well written book on the issues of communism, and shows his absoluteley remarkable ability to put the reader inside the character. It shows a horrible world, where its occupants are monitored constantly by hidden cameras or concealed microphones. No one can think to him or herself in this country of Oceana, because Big Brother is watching you. In this world, 2+2=5, because Big Brother is always right. Powered on the hate of the traitor, Goldstein, the Party (the higher position that runs Oceana) is unstoppable. George Orwell perfectly illustrates this grim future with such description, it almost seems real. Honestly the best novel I ever read, and from my favorite author, George Orwell.
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Summary: How bad can human beings get? About this bad...
Review: This is a book about the ultimate in man's inhumanity to man. George Orwell, and many others realised that, if you controlled the thoughts of everyone in the world, then you are literally omnipotent - because nothing can be proved to exist outside the human consciousness. The part where O'Brien says that Big Brother will last literally forever gives one pause for thought. Because it is true that, in an Orwellian society, nothing can ever change. Big Brother is literally an eternal God.
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Summary: Words can't describe the brilliance...
Review: but I'll give it a try. "1984" by George Orwell is an amazing story, and an important reminder of the necessity of individualism and freedom of speech. The story is told from the point of view of Winston Smith, a man who lives in a world of rigid orthodoxy, in which any actions, words, or expressions which are contradictory to the required norm are punishable by death. The entire population has been brainwashed by the controlling "Inner Party" and the mythical "Big Brother", and Winston believes he is the only one who still holds ideals, logical thoughts, and desires inside his head. This sets the scene for a terrifying "one man against the world" story in which your heart goes out to the main character, who's deep-rooted feeling of alone-ness has been felt by almost everyone at one time or another. Even without delving into the many political and philosophical issues brought foward, this story has it all: an unlikely hero, a love story, horror, and much more. It must be stressed that "1984" wasn't meant as a prediction of the future but as a cautionary tale to prevent such a thing from ever happening. The horror of the totalitarian society in which Winston Smith lives affected me more than any horror book I've ever read. It's definately not light reading (the political descriptions in "the book" that Winston reads are particularly heavy going), but it is compulsory reading and deserves a place on the bookshelf of everyone who cares about life. It is such a compelling, brilliantly written and thought-provoking novel that I applaud George Orwell for writing it. What a genius.
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