Helpful Score: 12
Was Orwell a prophet, or what? If you've never read this modern classic of "negative utopia", you may well be shocked to find how profoundly it resonnates with the political climate of today. A must-read (or re-read!) cautionary tale.
Helpful Score: 8
A starteling novel that notes the surreal events of a future where the government not only controls life, but watches your every move. (Think the patriot act on some serius steroids) This book will make you wonder about what the media is and is not telling us.
Helpful Score: 6
One of my favorite dystopian books-however, I wouldn't considering "light reading" a la a crime novel or romance novel. Definitely thought provoking.
Helpful Score: 4
1984 is an intellectual read. Don't pick it up unless you have time to really absorb it. I was amazed at the way that Orwell dug into human nature and exposed a horrifying future. Although this is NOT a horror novel, it may be the scariest book I've read!
Helpful Score: 4
"He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past."
My definition of a truly classic novel is one that is so talked about and referenced that you can know all about the book and it's message without having ever actually read it. 1984 is one of the most glaring examples of this, as terms such as "Big Brother" and "Doublespeak" are now mainstream concepts that no longer require explanation.
The book itself gained its popularity, however, by successfully reaching a broad audience by exaggerating and reducing the complicated debate of the illusion of free will and freedom of thought in any kind of government structure that strives to control and manipulate the populace for its own benefit in an almost unbelievable science fiction setting. The extremes that are reached in 1984's may seem only possible in a work of fiction, yet there is a truth beneath the pulp novel trappings that most readers can not avoid recognizing.
Note: For those who have already read this, I have a suggestion. Read 1984 again, only assume that the book actually takes place in our modern times, and that the narrator is a paranoid schizophrenic.
My definition of a truly classic novel is one that is so talked about and referenced that you can know all about the book and it's message without having ever actually read it. 1984 is one of the most glaring examples of this, as terms such as "Big Brother" and "Doublespeak" are now mainstream concepts that no longer require explanation.
The book itself gained its popularity, however, by successfully reaching a broad audience by exaggerating and reducing the complicated debate of the illusion of free will and freedom of thought in any kind of government structure that strives to control and manipulate the populace for its own benefit in an almost unbelievable science fiction setting. The extremes that are reached in 1984's may seem only possible in a work of fiction, yet there is a truth beneath the pulp novel trappings that most readers can not avoid recognizing.
Note: For those who have already read this, I have a suggestion. Read 1984 again, only assume that the book actually takes place in our modern times, and that the narrator is a paranoid schizophrenic.