1984

Rating:
Summary: One of the "best", and most enduring, of the distopias.
Review: Written in 1949, this book has become such a part of the culture that even people who've never heard of it (if there are any such) would recognize the terms "doublethink" and "thoughtcrime", among others that this book introduced to the lexicon. The truly scary thing is not that there are noticeable similarities between our political culture and the culture portrayed in this book, but rather the even closer similarities between that culture and our corporate culture.

After all, in the corporate world, as in the "Oceana" of this book, the "proles" (common laborers) can pretty much think and say what they want, although it IS possible for individuals to go too far. But if one wants a comfortable life in an office job, one not only has to watch what one says, but how one says it, and what one can be demonstrated to think. If one is caught in the "thoughtcrime" of being insufficiently enthusiastic about one's company, or showing doubts about whether what it's doing is right or not, one will surely be "disappeared"; one's co-workers will show up one day and simply not find you there, and if anyone is foolish enough to ask what happened, they will simply be told, in a tone of voice that brooks no further questions, "s/he is no longer with the department". If the offense was serious enough, that person will never work in as high-level a position again, anywhere. They won't have been taken off and tortured; they will simply have been exiled to the status of common laborer, where they're no longer dangerous.

Also, if you doubt the existence of "doublethink", consider that corporations want honest, trustworthy employees, but heaven help the employee who speaks his/her mind (even quietly, on his/her own time) if it disagrees with corporate policy.

The real world may be more subtle than the novel, but truth is no less truth for being subtle.

Rating:
Summary: A Timeless Classic
Review: Many readers have trouble digesting books that are commonly accepted as classics. Books written many years ago often times fail to resonate with the modern reader. 1984, a book more than 50 years old, is a true classic that anyone can enjoy.

Unlike many accepted classics, this is not regal, dry, stuffy, nor thick. 1984 is mostly a light read, with some exception towards the end when Winston starts repeating from 'the book' to Julia. Other than that, words generally flow down the pages, and you quickly find yourself engrossed by the story, such that it becomes hard to put down...and hard to stomach at the same time.

Orwell creates a world that is both absurdly terrifying yet strangely familiar. Strangely familiar because of what we see happening right now in our present day history. Orwell proclaimed that he did not think 1984 would happen, but that it could happen. If he were still alive today, he would be no less convinced that it could happen.

Today, reality does not give us leadership which is this draconian. 1984 presents a possible reality; a reality that is an extreme case of government gone bad. While I don't see this as our eventual fate, I enjoy the eye-opening approach Orwell takes in creating this story to make his point.

The result of his foreboding is eye-opening and fear-inducing. Those familiar with Animal Farm will recognize his ability to paint a very nefarious, yet realistic, scenario in which leaders of any societal order strive to exclude. Those not familiar with Orwell are in for a treat and should read Animal Farm in addition to this.

This review is being written in early 2003. At the moment, US politicians are attempting to create legislation which will enable federal agents to track every electronic move that people make. In light of that, this book is a required read. Disregarding that, this book is still a required read.

While I do not think this book represents a potential reality, it does highlight the danger of losing one's freedom to think independently. And in that vein, Orwell forces you to ask questions about the core of humanity and just how far things could possibly go.

In perusing some of the 821 reviews of this book, I don't think it's fair to say that this is the best book ever written, or even one of the top 10 for that matter. It is a good book, and one that I highly recommend. But I cannot in good faith call it one of the best ever.

The only issue I might have is that Orwell does assume that the average person is so mentally broke that he could allow this to ever happen. I don't know if this was his aim, or if it's to proclaim this *would* happen if the upper echelon got their way. Then again, in the day and age of media-fed TV junkies, perhaps he was more right than he could possibly have known.

A very good book and certainly worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Now more than ever
Review: War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

With these 3 contradictory statements, Orwell perfectly summarizes the inevitable end of all freedoms for mankind.

I have read this masterpiece over 10 times and each time I glean some new thoughts on the pitfalls of living in what we affectionately call "society." During my last three readings of this novel, I approached the book looking for parallels between Orwell's 1984 and our 2002.

The first reading I approached it from the right wing perspective and was horrified at how large and intrusive the government has become over my short lifetime. The second reading, I approached from the leftist viewpoint and found myself frightened by the encroachments on civil liberties and personal freedoms over the past several decades. In my most recent reading, I approached it from a stateless viewpoint (read anarchist) and found myself mentally replacing Emmanuel Goldstein and the Brotherhood with Osama bin Laden and al Quaida (note: this is not an endorsement of either OBL or Al Quaida, rather it is just a means to see how a government can puff up an enemy to the point he becomes all purpose ... e.g. Those anti-drug Superbowl ads were they claimed that smoking a joint promoted terrorism).

In a nutshell, I am saying that 1984 transcends political leanings and begs the question: Does trusting your wellbeing to your fellow man serve your best interests?

The answer is a resounding "no."

In 1949, Orwell's three contradictory statements could have rang hallow with many readers, but in a world where the peacekeepers are those with the military power to coerce peacefulness, where people spend their freedoms for perceived security (see Patriot Act) and where a simple perusal of television's primetime lineup can prove that no premium is placed on intelligence; one can see how 1984 is more prophetic now than it was in 1949.

Rating:
Summary: Tells the truth...
Review: Throughout history one stumbles upon a book that really knocks the senses into you. Millions upon millions of books have been written throughout the world's history, but few have made people think hard and carefully about life, politics, and philosophy. George Orwell's book is one of those few books. A more extensive fictional "treatise" on how a leftist state/society can go wrong than his much shorter "Animal Farm". It is about time that left-leaning people recognize what left-leaning systems really are: dictatorial and hypocritical. Orwell does a fine job in this book by showing how a state that is supposed to breakdown inequality and oppression actually turns out to be a state that supports inequality and oppression (in a more sinister way than rightist authoritarianisms--at least right wing states tell you outrightly that there will be inequality and are more honest with its people). He shows how a state can conjure up an image of a fictional leader (or project grandiose images of a real leader) to uphold the system. This is a book that all political science students should read.

Rating:
Summary: A different percetion of reality.
Review: personally i beleive every individual percieves reality differently from that of another; according to how society perceves them. Here Mr. Orwell clearly provides the ideologies of one man and how it relates to others/it's society. in all actuality no one is right nor wrong, they simply comply or not to that of one persons individualistical thought which has spread-out. "I.E. is censorship ok in our society?"

Rating:
Summary: I'll take a pint, not a liter
Review: A must-read. The one paragraph description of the High, the Middle, and the Low is worth the price of the book and the time to read it.

Carry on, Winston.

Rating:
Summary: No Comparison
Review: If you read one book in your life this one should be it. I read this back in the 7th grade(I am in college now) and I cannot say how much I appreciated this book. From the expansive sci-fi in it to the vocabulary words to represent the society... this is a work of art.

If you haven't read this book... read it. If you have read this book, then read it again.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read for every reader
Review: I first read this book in high school but never really appreciated it till just recently. With the passage of the Homeland Security Bill, I thought I'd better refresh my memory of this book. And this book is scarier than any Stephen King book ~~ it's scary because our future has arrived. With Big Brother watching our every move ...

The book is a reflection upon past times as well as the future ~~ it's a history of mankind. It is about power. It is about control ~~ one man over another. It is about power through total submission ~~ submersion of the self. It is not about the greater good of life or mankind. It is man at its very worst. Orwell took a deep look into despair and wrote bluntly about it. The surface of it is Big Brother watching every move you make ~~ till you get into the book and realize there is much more at sake. And it's so well-written. No matter that I wanted to put the book down and ignore it, I couldn't. I had to read it to the last page. And it's the scariest book I have ever read.

1-9-03

Rating:
Summary: Doubleplusgood, also doubleplusungood
Review: If you want to know what the title of this review means, you really do need to read the book. A technical translation is "very very good" and "very very bad", but that is inexact.

It is difficult to review this book without making comparisons to current events or using the word "prophetic". It is a world where all freedoms have been eliminated in favor of the bureaucratic order. It is totalitarian, as occasionally one or two people wake up to this fact. There is only one crime, to think bad thoughts, and the main character is guilty, because he remembers the unofficial (and therefore non-existant) version of the past.

What is most interesting about the book is how, in the end, they completely warped the thoughts of the protaganist so that he goes from wanting to rebel against the government to the last line of the book "Winston loved Big Brother."

That a government could progress to the point where it could twist a person's thoughts is frightening. That people can read this book and compare it to any modern government is revealing.

Yes, this book is all the things people say it is, which is why it should be read.

Rating:
Summary: this review...its not here. it never was
Review: why? read the book...
i dont exist