1984

Rating:
Summary: The most important novel of this century
Review: This book is quite probably the greatest novel ever written. That's my opinion. Read this book, and form your own opinion, but under NO circumstance should you let someone make you read this book. If you look at all the negative reviews, they are bitter and insulting, and most of those readers were forced into reading this book. They thought it wasn't realistic, they thought the characters were shallow, they thought is was depressing. I don't know what they expected from this novel, but there's no reason to insult the book or author. I would like to see any one of the people who graded this poorly write a novel of superior quality! These are the same people who bump into you in the streets and don't apologize, the same people who won't give up their seat on the bus to a pregnant or elderly person, the same people who won't politely hold a door open for you. These people are rude. They go through life complaining about other people, worrying only about themselves. They're angry at someone, but they take it out on a book they weren't bright enough to understand. Huh? We do live in america, and we do have the right to an opinion, and we do have the right to freedom of speech. But we also have something called manners. Well, most of us do. Not these people.

Rating:
Summary: A little bit unrealistic
Review: A little unrealistic. Orwell is quite the optimist

Rating:
Summary: not a "prophecy" or a "warning"!
Review: Get it straight, people: Orwell was writing about the time he lived in. Not the way the world would or might become, but the way it really was. It exagerrates in the extreme, of course, making _1984_ a kind of bleak satire.

It's a shame this is Orwell's most famous book, though, because in many ways it's his worst, with _Animal Farm_ being about as bad. _1984_ is one of the more overrated books of the century. I've read some of his other books (_Down and Out in Paris and London_, _Burmese Days_, _Homage to Catalonia_, etc.), along with many of his essays, and they were all superior to _1984_. Perhaps because _1984_ requires less intelligence to see its point...

Having read his less extreme fiction and non-fiction, I have come to respect Orwell deeply as a man who was honest, straightforward, very sensible, and altogether admirable. In many ways he was a remarkable man; but none of those praiseworthy qualities shows through in _1984_, where we only see dark cynicism about not only communism but also bourgeios democracy.

If you're looking for balanced, intelligent writing from Orwell, stay away from _1984_ for a while.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: This book clearly was ahead of it's time. Orwell had great insight into shades of things to come. We can plainly see that many world leaders would like to or have a "Big Brother". This book is not for the meek!

Rating:
Summary: Splendid
Review: All I have to say about 1984 is it really makes you think of what we all could be living in. Overall it is one of the best books i have ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Probably the best book ever written.
Review: George Orwell's classic tale of a dysponic government ruling a futuristic society is, in my opinion, the greatest book I have ever had the pleasure to read. What is so disturbing about this story is how it parallels our own society. In an age where technology,media, and good old-fashioned human rotteness are all on an out of control path, it seems big brother is getting nothing but bigger. Orwell is not only an author of incredible talent, he could very well be an unknowing prophet. The best book of its kind anywhere!

Rating:
Summary: This is it...
Review: Although morbid, it's fitting to know that Orwell basically died writing this masterpiece, as it clearly encompasses a life's work.

Cast your mind back fifty years. You read "Animal Farm" when it came out and enjoyed it immensely. Now this hits the market and blows everybody away by its grim forsight and bluntness.

Whether you think Orwell's predictions were overly accurate or not, that's not necessarily the most important thing. Orwell portrays the *potential* that exists, clearly making this novel timeless. Change the name of the book to "2044" and it would be just as effective as it was fifty years ago. Too many people take Orwell's predictions literally, when in many ways it's a warning...

Winston is Orwell, he is the tool, a technique Orwell neglected to use in "Animal Farm". This book could easily have been written in first person, but the use of third person puts a necessary distance between Winston and the reader, meaning that although the reader shares all of his experiences, and the world he lives in, there is enough distance to look at the wider world.

An interesting footnote I was praised for when I went to school that I have not seen anywhere else is to note the very striking parallels between Winston and O'Brien. I got the feeling that O'Brien basically *was* Winston years earlier, before he was "cured". Behind the rock of the torturer, there is a feather of a man that does care, but isn't allowed to.

This novel is what Orwell was trying to achieve. He scratched the surface in "Animal Farm" and went a lot deeper here.

Rating:
Summary: Nineteen Ninety Nine
Review: This book is as powerful as it was when it was written. The universality of literature in this book is evident. It clearly shows the effects of totalitarianism and a loss of human spirit; this novel shows it almost as well as Anthony Burgess's "A Clockwork Orange", which holds the best novel of all time in my esteem

Rating:
Summary: allthough it shows the extreme, it shows a possilbe truth
Review: This book describes an extreme situation of what totalitarianism can lead to. But I think that's just the power of the book; because the state, as talked about in the book,is an extreme example, but I think that extremes show the real danger of something; it makes you more aware of a situation (a state form, a social question etc.) than a report based on real facts does. therefore you also shouldn't take this book for real, but you should take parts of this books and compare them to reality. and by doing so you'll find a lot of things that form, as described in the book, dangers in present day society also. this book actually shows all what totalitarianism can lead to, and therefore enables you to see the danger of it

Rating:
Summary: My all-time favorite book
Review: 1984 simply can't be described. It's the most fascinating and worthwhile book I have ever read. Orwell dares to ask 'what if...' and he succeeds in constructing a frightening yet possible situation for the citizens of the world. Great book.