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Summary: A timeless example of current events
Review: I have read 1984 many times. Each time that I have read it I come away with new insights to its pure genius. The very concept of 'DoubleThink' and 'NewSpeak' are not just literary devices in a great book, they are current trends that exist in todays world. In Americe, the land of the free, the insidious grip of Political Corectness has worked it's way through society. We have manged to criminalize words, because their meanings have been perverted by special intrest groups who have their own agendas. New words or terms have been formed to gradually herd people into new ways of thinking. We have a leader who by all indications has broken the laws of the country, the bonds of his marriage, and the basic morals that all people are expected to live be. Most anybody can recognize this yet at the same time cannot see where any wrong doing has taken place. A court appointed counsel has taken the form of Goldstein, where virtually every crisis and point of evil in the nation and possibly world has been blamed on him somehow. The internet has come into most peoples homes and office. A person cannot go anywher now without being watched by security cameras or electronically tracked at airports and by credit card transactions. It is 1998 now, but in many ways we are living in 1984. We just haven't looked up and noticed it yet.
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Summary: Super-deep story written for unthinkers
Review: Overall, a very interesting story..However, I found some parts super-cheesy - some parts of the book, some phrases written by the author seemed to be written with the intent of making some super-deep, human, philosophical point. For my taste, the author too clearly delivers these points...doesn't leave enough of the wrenching analysis and thought formation to the reader. Some points are so blatantly delivered I couldn't help but cringe, look away from the text, and say "ohh man...". Not nearly as elegant as Huxley in Brave New World.
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Summary: Fantastic, Thought Provoking.
Review: I, along with (probably) a few million other high-school students read this recently, and I must say, this is one of the best books I have laid my eyes on. This will be a book that I'll remember. Although it may not be very realistic in the present-day free world, It was a very good vision. I would be VERY interested to see what changes and additions would be there, had Orwell known how powerful computers and surveillance equipment has become, although, according to the beleifs of the culture portrayed, development of the computer would have halted by the 70's at the latest. Oh well. Read it if you haven't yet.
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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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