1984
Reviews
I need a moment of silence and peace after this please
😬😬😬😬 well.
incredible book, renewed my love for reading and books, got me thinking deeply about our current relationship with surveillance and media, as well as where society is heading for in the future.
Reflecting the time it was created it is a masterpiece with some small critic points. It is a depressing but catching story, with a longer excursus into world politics and conspiracies. 5 stars from a release date perspective, 4.5 stars for todays standards. Impressive how accurate it still is.
I finally after months and months have decided to DNF this book.
I know it’s a classic. I am aware that it was written a long time ago. The language was different. I know. However, I found I was skimming over pages absent-mindedly and had to re-read. I don’t understand the “You must read this incredible life changing book at some point in your life.”
I actually was at 318 out of like 356 pages I think? I just can’t deal with trying to read this anymore.
Eye-opening 👁️
Holy fuck this depressing-ass book… I’m so glad I only read this now and wasn’t forced to read it in secondary school because I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much as I do right now. Loved “Goldstein’s book”, and I love love loved how Orwell expanded on the control of thought via language. I.e. the entire Appendix was so interesting… 4.5 stars because I almost gave up at Part One and also because I really do not like Winston unfortunately. — “Can you not understand, Winston, that the individual is only a cell? The weariness of the cell is the vigor of the organism. Do you die when you cut your fingernails?”
The closest thing to the term "Timeless classic"
I consider the way Orwell portray absolute control to be absolutely haunting. History is not just blurred, it's fictitious. Freedom is stripped to its most naked form that even the freedom to think is taken.
1984 is not just a contemplative critic to authoritarianism, it's also a warning to society. This is what happens if you let power unchecked for too long.
How it was illustrated with his writing is what i appreciate about this book
First book for 2025 and definitely did not disappoint. My first classic, it surely is tested over time for its quality. I love that it wasn't an easy read for me, but I enjoyed my time reading it. It raised questions in the end that help me understand the story better.
“The command of the old despotisms was ‘Thou shalt not’. The command of the totalitarians was ‘Thou shalt’. Our command is ‘Thou art’.”
Wow. To control a language is to control entire modes of thought. The end of this book was stomach churning and made me feel ill, however it was also the best part of it. Extremely thought provoking stuff. The characters were fine but maybe lacked more depth to them. The overall message of the story is something I’ll be thinking about and unpacking for a long, long time.
well now I’m depressed
Honestly jesus christ. This was such a great book to read, especially alongside other people to be able to discuss. Orwell’s style of writing is something I could easily plow through, but I did get, and still am, confused by the time like? But nevertheless, it was a great example of a timeless novel on a surveillance society, censorship and loyalty.
El libro que empezo todo para mi
dystopian novel that mirrored the reality so well.
… would be 5 but the way they talk abt women…
A classic that is a must read, I was of course absorbed by it, leaving 4.5/5 simply because I would have liked it to be a bit less passive and more revealing. But really really good.
i read this for school and ive heard so much praise for this so i was eager to pick this up but it was an ordeal to even finish this... this wasn't my cup of tea at all, i hated it, it was sexist and all characters were extremely unlikeable. it was hard to read and although the depiction of the dystopian world was strong and quite interesting, i dont like how it was delivered at all
Oh boy! This took me for a ride!
You're telling me this was published in 1949? Either Orwell foresaw the future, or some things never changed. I think it's worth a read, especially for those for whom this book is banned.
I think I’d have liked this more as a younger person — the text is so well treaded and entrenched in our culture that it seemed a little like I was rereading. That said - it’s 1984, it’s a classic for a reason. World building and POV lessons to be gleaned of course. Read it!
a classic. george orwell is always right
Not a happy ending, but interesting commentary on the state of society
The Audible Original adaptation of George Orwell's "1984" breathes new life into the classic novel with its stellar cast, immersive soundscapes, and faithful yet dynamic interpretation, offering a compelling experience for both longtime fans and newcomers.
1. Stellar Performances
The performances are extraordinary, with Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Winston Smith capturing the character’s despair and rebellion with poignant precision. Cynthia Erivo also stands out, giving a chilling voice to Julia.
> “Garfield’s voice creates an eerie intimacy, making listeners feel as if they are inside Winston’s head, sharing his fear and hopelessness."
2. Immersive Sound Design
The sound design enhances the storytelling with subtle sound effects and background scores that set the tone perfectly, transporting listeners to the oppressive world of Oceania.
> "The background sounds and abrupt silences make the listener feel the omnipresent surveillance and control of Orwell’s dystopia."
3. Faithful Yet Dynamic Interpretation
Staying true to Orwell's original text, this adaptation adds a dynamic layer through auditory elements, building tension gradually and delivering the novel’s darker themes with raw intensity.
> "The narration captures Orwell’s bleakness while voice acting and sound effects amplify the tension and despair, making the horrors of the totalitarian regime feel more immediate and real."
The Audible Original adaptation of "1984" is a masterful rendition that pays homage to Orwell’s classic, enhancing the storytelling through audio. It is a must-listen for anyone looking to experience "1984" in a new light. Whether revisiting the novel or discovering it for the first time, this adaptation offers a compelling and haunting journey into the depths of totalitarianism and the resilience of the human spirit.
I ADORED this book but the ending scarred me for life
Highlights
Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood
Every new political theory, by whatever name it called itself, led back to hierarchy and regimentation. And in the general hardening of outlook that set in round about 1930, practices which had been long abandoned, in some cases for hundreds of years—imprisonment without trial, the use of war prisoners as slaves, public executions, torture to extract confessions, the use of hostages and the deportation of whole populations—not only became common again, but were tolerated and even defended by people who considered themselves enlightened and progressive.
It’s the one thing they can't do. They can make you say anything—anything—but they can't make you believe it. They can’t get inside you.
In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane. They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird.
Privacy, he said, was a very valuable thing. Everyone wanted a place where they could be alone occasionally.
So long as human beings stay human, death and life are the same thing.
It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live did live, from habit that became instinct-in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
“Winston stroked his nose gently with a paper-clip.”
But after reading it he knew better than before that he was not mad. Being in a minority, even a minority of one, did not make you mad. There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.
Amazing
Die Massen revoltieren nie aus eigenem Antrieb, und sie revoltieren nie, nur weil sie unterdrückt werden. Solange man ihnen die Vergleichsmaßstäbe entzieht, werden sie nicht einmal merken, daß man sie unterdrückt
Wäre ihm der Kontakt mit Ausländern gestattet, würde er feststellen, daß sie ganz ähnliche Menschen sind wie er und daß das meiste, was er über sie gehört hat, Lügen waren.
Talking to her, he realised how easy it was to present an appearance of orthodoxy while having no grasp whatever of what orthodoxy meant. In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. By lack of understanding they remained sane.
‘Who controls the past, ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’ And yet the past, though of its nature al- terable, never had been altered. Whatever was true now was true from everlasting to everlasting. It was quite simple. All that was needed was an unending series of victories over your own memory. ‘Reality control', they called it: in New-speak, 'doublethink.’
Orthodoxy means not thinking-not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness.
The weariness of the cell is the vigour of the organism. Do you die when you cut your fingernails?
Already we are breaking down the habits of thought which have survived from before the Revolution. We have cut the links between child and parent, and between man and man, and between man and woman. No one dares trust a wife or a child or a friend any longer.
It must be so; how could the immortal, collective brain be mistaken? By what external standard could you check its judgements?
You must get rid of those 19th century ideas about the laws of nature. We make the laws of nature.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.