Rating: 
Summary: "...That lunatic dislocation in the mind..."
Review: Hmmm...some pretty hyperbolic reviews for this book so far. Well, I can't deny that it is now the equal best book I've ever read (along with One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, which I'm going to read again, to see which is better), but all this talk of causing depression and paranoia is a little over the top. Frankly, it made me feel euphoric to be so engrossed and stimulated. It certainly stirs emotion, it certainly is prophetic and it is impossible to put it down, but the real strength for me lay in the absolute craftsmanship present in the writing. I think this is because the book is a combination of fiction and political philosophy - all the more clever because the political philosophy has to ring true in regard to the fictional content, and also be relevant to reality in order to make it's impact on the reader.
Much of it describes the conflict within Winston Smith's head; the contradiction between what he believes to be true and what he is told to believe, so you have a lot of thoughts and concepts being discussed at length during the story. To order and structure a novel of this kind and present a cohesive description of a system of government in such a way is an amazing feat. Having seen the film, I could not see how the people employed alongside Winston Smith can be involved in their own deception and be blind to it, but Orwell is absolutely convincing. It is such an intricately woven novel. I have often thought that I would like to write a novel, and one of the things that stopped me is the knowledge that I would not have the patience to get to the end, but then to read something like this makes you realise that there is no point because it would be impossible to write anything as complex and compelling as this. Orwell discusses so many ideas yet every time he revisits one, he takes it further and delves deeper into the system, and deeper into the mind - without repeating himself.
Frankly, I find it difficult to explain just how well written this is, to say nothing of the great story.
To sum up in one sentence...absolutely fascinating.
Rating: 
Summary: Chilling...
Review: Doesn't everybody have a list in their mind of the books they would like to read during their lifetime? '1984' has been on my list for many years and, with a long commute, I finally decided to get the audiobook. Although I would still say it is necessary reading for all people, especially at this juncture I think Americans should pick up this book. When I read the slogans of Big Brother, I felt sick: War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength In some ways, I feel like George Orwell from his 1948 perspective 'called it.' So many of the scenarios that he described are right on. He wrote this book after Stalin took power in Russia. Orwell had rejoiced at the Bolshevik Revolutions but when the reports of Stalin's brutality came out, he was upset. The first half of the book was great, but I have to warn you that the second half was extremely disturbing and depressing. I had a hard time listening (audiobook) to the last two cassettes. I did finish the book, but it was difficult. Even more than fifty years later, Orwell's words still have the power to affect the reader. '1984' is a valuable work that rings true.
Rating:
Summary: Orwell must have had a time machine...............
Review: ..............cause its happening!
For the people how haven't read the book or are unsure if they should read it please take my recommendation and READ IT NOW. I promise you that you will be stunned how frightning and amazing this book really is.
Rating:
Summary: A veritable premonition
Review: Winston Smith is a pitiful lead character, yet we doubtlessly empathize with him and feel his infinite despair. His destitute disenfranchisement from any semblance of normality is not only shocking and frightening, it is downright abominable. I would hate to spoil this ingenious book for anyone, so I will refrain from dissecting the ending. However, I must say that it did leave an immensely pungent taste in my mouth - as is intended. 1984 is as potent as it is mesmerizing. It is infinitely unique as there is no other book quite like it, albeit Brave New World is strikingly similar. Two Minutes of Hate is classic. Who cannot appreciate the ThoughtPolice, DoubleTalk, DoubleSpeak, and the many other Orwellian words that have been firmly implanted in the English language? 1984 could very well be the most profoundly provocative work of the 20th Century. 1984 projects an appalling, yet veritable premonition in lieu of our continually decreasing civil liberties. Highly recommended by this humble reviewer. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Story
Review: George Orwell wrote 1984 to show us his grim view on what shape life would take by the year 1984. Orwell not only wrote about the world of the future, but also stood out by writing his idea of the supremely successful, and everlasting government, the anti-Utopia. Within the story Orwell created the Brother Hood, an evil organization with advanced technology and the desire for power, even at the expense of sanity. Winston, the main character of the story, is a comrade under the Brother Hood. He turns out to be quite the odd man out, since Winston is always seeking for some sort of salvation from the evil grasp of the Brother Hood. Since the Brother Hood watches everyone in Oceania, the country Winston lives in, twenty-four hours a day through two-way telescreens, all personal and social lives of its countrymen are eliminated. The Brother Hood skillfully takes apart all connections between its citizens, leaving them weak and alone, also preventing them from rebellious organization. The Brother Hood destroyed the bonds between family members by instilling pure fear, the fear that your spouse, or even your child will turn you in for thought crime. To commit a thought crime, it would have to appear that your mind is thinking in some way that is opposing the Brother Hood and Big Brother's, the supreme ruler of the Brother Hood, bests interests. This is the Brother Hoods way of controlling what you think; giving them the power to break a man's sanity, and mold him in any way they please. This society formed as the anti-Utopia has one advantage over other ruling parties, it does not promise love and equality for its citizens in the end, but sets forth to create hate, separation, and total inequality among people, making their rule everlasting and indestructible.
Rating:
Summary: Read Only If You Have Time To Think
Review: You can't always read a book merely because it's a "classic" and expect it to be "that good." Yet 1984 IS "that good." The first half of the book is a bit slow and stagnant, yet the end section of this book is absolutely frightening and marvelous. What happens to Julia and Winston is so incredibly sad that I cried. Yes, this is just a book. Yet, when you think in a broader perspective... if you rise above the "plot" and think of Orwell's message, you can't help but be in awe. Think about it, Orwell's three principles in the book: WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH How relevant is that to today?! When you answer that question, you realize WHY this is novel, written in 1949, is a "future" novel...yet you realize how the eerie future Orwell presents in his novel relates to modern times. A must-read...but don't just read it. It's more important to try to grasp Orwell's message in the book. Marvelous, wonderful, frightening, and more importantly, it makes you think.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately timeless
Review: I first read 1984 in 1982. I was in my early teens, the Cold War seemed anything but that, and the fear of nuclear annihiliation was quite real. Although this fear has resurfaced in the last year and a half, at least in those years there was an antinuclear movement that gave some hope for disarmament. On my first reading, Orwell's vision of a nightmarish future seemed relevant to both superpowers' hopes for world domination. What has stayed with me through the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, was Orwell's fascinating treatment of language and truth, his dissection of the ways people in offices of immense power, regardless of their political affiliation, distort reality to suit their purposes. The idea that resistance to such distortion begins with being true to oneself and decent to the people around you has sustained me through a dismal political era. In 1984, Orwell shows how such truthfulness and decency are their own rewards. I've read 1984 five times in twenty years and I've recently taught it for the first time. It's remarkable that Orwell's perceptions, written over fifty years ago, remain relevant regardless of the party in power, whether there are two superpowers or one, whether people read 1984 in the radio age or the Internet age. In a society whose citizens are linked more by their spending habits than their political outlooks, where many personal desires are shaped by images of inaccessible lifestyles, Orwell's perspective on language and truth, appearance and reality, become even more relevant than when they were first written. Readers often criticize Orwell's pessimism but he didn't underestimate our capacity to go along with things as they are. He might have avoided this criticism had he made Parsons, the loyal, dim-witted Party member, a more prominent counterpoint to Winston. Most of us, sadly, don't need to go to Room 101 to learn to love Big Brother. If we think of Big Brother as the various industries and ideologies that help us convince ourselves that seeing is believing, then we already, willingly, do.
Rating:
Summary: A novel for the ages...
Review: 1984 is not just a science fiction story, or a political book, or even a fantasy story, but a book on ideas, a book of thought and philosophy. Winstin Smith is us, men and women who believe in Truth and history, family and love and sex, if such things can be linked together. And Orwell shows us they CAN be linked, because they are freedoms, as important as the freedom to vote or speak. Without the basic rights that even many ANIMALS have, without the foundation of current passions and private memories, a free world can NEVER exist.
Maybe I am reading too much into it. But I feel the book goes beyond fears of the industrial elite within Western societies, big corporations and Communism. Or maybe it goes beneath these fears, to the root of them all, which is our fear of losing our way.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: I was required to read this in high school, I'm now a college student and I still love it! It is one of the best books I've read. The first time I read it, there were parts I was a little frustrated with, but at the end, I was certainly not disappointed! I highly reccommend this book to anyone. We all should read it!
Rating:
Summary: Read it!
Review: Why are you sitting there? Get up and read this book. It may show you how human you really are...
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