1984

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Summary: A Sinister Indictment of the Evolution of Society
Review: 1984 is the most profound book I have read. At its core is control of the masses. In a free, democratic society this occurs to a more ahorrant extent than in socialist or communist countries as the public is unaware it is happening, whilst a "clean" facade is maintained. The ominous image of 1984 is facilitated by our modern day, technological society, and as such its warning is even more general and relevant than it may intially seem. You can know only what you're told and believe only what you're lead to believe (directly or indirectly). I'll get off my soapbox now and let you wipe the blood from your ears. 1984 is a magnificent book and will change the way you think, indicating the genius of Orwell.

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Summary: An important book
Review: 1984 is one of the most book now, but as ficition it's also fantastic. If you liked it, and if you're open minded, than you should read other great books, like The Trial. Both of them are very important and clever, read it only if you want to think, it's not some kind of trash like The Alchemist.

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Summary: Futuristic past reality hits us in the face
Review: "1984" is indescriptable. It does not fall into any categories except for that describing an inhumane society. Winston Smith needs the girl and I think it's beautiful when he discovers that she loves him. That's beside the point of the Thought Police and O'Brien. A very sad book with a sad end. Smith comes to love Big Brother.

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Summary: Great fiction...Don't really see the "cutural significance"
Review: I read it in a day. It was a great story, but where people come up with "must read" and comments on how true it is is confusing to me. Orwell has some interesting ideas, esp. the vocabulary thing. However, it is fiction. If it is regarded as such, enjoy it. If a philosophetic novel is expected, look elsewhere.

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Summary: This book will make you think
Review: Perhaps the description will seem turgid and tiresome as you read 1984, but in retrospect it will have been to your great advantage to have read of this negative utopia. Regarding the one reviewer who gave this book one star -- please, actually pay attention before you write another review, and get your facts straight. Julia wasn't in the Thought Police. Why don't you go back to English class, and after you've mastered "Green Eggs & Ham" try Orwell again. Thank you.

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Summary: Amazing. Chilling. Read it.
Review: This book is a truly amazing look at a world of the future. A world where no one has a mind of their own, where a power-seeking Party controls everything. No one escapes the control of Big Brother, not even those with rock-hard beliefs against it.

From the first page to the last sentence, this book draws the reader in, and the reader comes out with a new awareness, a new vantage point from which to view our modern world.

Capturing Orwell's convictions about Communism and Socialism, the book is more than good suspense, it is a lesson.

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Summary: incredible
Review: Possibly my favorite book. It truly makes you think about human nature. The setting is a dystopia that is unthinkable, yet not implausible. There is a section on Newspeak, the language of this world, that is extremely interesting. Not a light read, but one that must be read.

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Summary: You Need To Read This in Any Free Thinking Nation...
Review: You may think this is about Stalin and his Purges... it may be... but it's much more. The date is irrelavant, except that it's in the future of the author (Orwell). Our hero, Winston Smith (no accident that Winston Churchill and the most comon name, Smith, were used by Orwell), has all the right qualities: a questioning mind, a distrust of authority, and an oddball fascination with the truth...to get himself "cleansed" by the Thought Police, who torture and kill, out of "love" for Big Brother's lot of Outer Party Members. Smith has the temerity to question the nature of this power exuded by the Inner Party - for it's own sake, which seems fragile. Built on embracing "DoubleThink," where any two diametrically opposed statements are both valid, and where citizens are told which version is the truth - for that moment. Smith asks, "Does Big Brother exist?" while Inner Party member O'Brien tortures what's left of him into believing 2 +! 2 = 4 or 5, depending what the very same Big Brother decides is Truth, for today, now. Why is "1984" important? Keeping an alert eye on any government that exudes power by control and manipulating information, where the individual is sacrificed to the needs of the many, where the press is owned by the church, and where the state is unapproachable and abstract, is not only the province of the American CIA, but of any individual professing adherence to democracy. The enemy may just be our own complacency. Orwell's anti-utopia novel is a warning: we must engage in our democracy or be prepared to believe 2 + 2 = 5...and all else will follow...!

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Summary: Why is this a novel?
Review: 1984 does not live up to it's reputation. I'll grant that Orwell had a point (that _western_ societies, as well as soviet society were headed toward his future). However, Orwell is not a great novelist -- excellent essays, poor novels. Almost the entire plot is stolen from an earlier russian work (We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin), which is far superior. If you're interested in Orwell's political thinking (yes, he's a socialist), check out his essays. If you're looking for a good allegory, DON'T get 1984...

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Summary: A frightening vision, an interesting look at class struggle
Review: I'd recommend this book to anyone. Not because of how entertaining it is but because of how well Orwell gets his point across. The past exists only in written records and people's memories, and can therefore be manipulated. This remains true regardless of the fact that Orwell's vision hasn't come true.