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Nineteen Eighty-Four
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$15.95
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| Part No: | 0452284236 |
| Manufacturer: | Plume |
| MFG Part: | |
| Customer Rating: | 4.5 / 5.0 |
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- ISBN13: 9780452284234
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Among the seminal texts of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell's nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff's attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell's prescience of modern life--the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language--and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.
Thought Police. Big Brother. Orwellian. These words have entered our vocabulary because of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel, 1984. The story of one man's nightmare odyssey as he pursues a forbidden love affair through a world ruled by warring states and a power structure that controls not only information but also individual thought and memory, 1984 is a prophetic, haunting tale. More relevant than ever before, 1984 exposes the worst crimes imaginable-the destruction of truth, freedom, and individuality. With a new forward by Thomas Pynchon.
| Disturbing and Relevent | 2010-02-27 | 5 / 5 |
| It may be said that great books comment on their times, and on the human experience, but masterpieces actually shape history. We may look at George Orwell's 1984 in two ways: first, his description of the terror of totalitarianism, which his generation witnessed firsthand in the form of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia. Orwell does a masterful job of presenting such a world in its day-to-day reality, the unspoken weight of oppression found in police states, the everpresent fear that becomes natural after a while, the ease with which that fear eventually makes you just go along with it all.
But history has also shown us that totalitarianism eventually burns itself out, that it cannot be sustained in the long run. This is scant reassurance for its millions of victims, true, but maybe a bit of hope for the rest of us. The second point about 1984, and the thing that makes it a masterpiece, is the way that it has shaped our culture today, not through its description of totalitarianism itself but the way it describes the very real methods used by governments and ideologies to control us. Terms like "doublethink" are now a part of our daily discourse, describing not the subjects of totalitarian states like North Korea but the modern, wealthy democracies that claim to be free. And this is the most chilling message of Orwell's novel: you don't need to be in a totalitarian regime to be controlled by clever propaganda. You don't need to have the police cameras in your home. You only need the fear of them, or the belief that war is peace or that torture is justice or that history is a thing that the powerful are entitled to rewrite for their own ends. Because self-censorship is every bit as complete as the regular kind, and is actually preferred by those who would control us, since it's far cheaper and easier than putting an actual gun to your head. |
| A frightening book that just may haunt you for days | 2010-02-22 | 5 / 5 |
| 1984 is one of those rare books that really affected me right down to my very core. I was actually a little shaken up after reading it. Going in I knew this wasn't going to be a happy story but I didn't realize the lasting impact it would have on me.
1984 is a book about totalitarian control over a society. Big Brother is always watching. Always.
This story follows Winston Smith. He works for the Ministry of Truth. The Ministry of Truth is hardly as truthful as the name implies. His job is to fabricate history and rewrite it. History has been rewritten so many times that nobody seems to know true history - Winston perpetuates these "truths" so that the party is always correct.
In Oceana there are no real freedoms. You don't even have the freedom to think. Right from the beginning Winston shows signs of going against the party. He covertly writes in his journal, which is not allowed but at the same time he blends in, he does his job and he does his best to keep the spotlight off of him. Soon enough he meets a young energetic (and oblivious) girl named Julia who is also going behind the back of Big Brother.
I'm not going to go much further into the story, this is something you just have to read yourself. This book hooked me right from the beginning and I charged through it in just 2 sittings (something a bit abnormal for me, I'm a little bit of a slow reader). I just couldn't put this book down.
I'll try to leave the story be, but I do want to bring up one of the more disturbing aspects of this book - newspeak. Newspeak is a language (or dumbing down of the English language) that is being developed throughout the book and its the only language in the world where words are being stripped away from the lexicon, rather then added. The new language strips away the feeling of words, for example the phrase "All men are equal" doesn't make sense in newspeak because "equal" would only mean equal in size, not equal in freedoms. The greatly simplified language is being developed to dumb down society, to control thought.
1984 hit me like a ton of bricks. I was actually quite emotionally drained after reading it. I'm typically not too much of a softy with these types of things but 1984 successfully made my eyes well up a bit and may be the only book that has done this to me. At times I almost wanted to tear this book apart, only because I didn't want it to even exist in my imagination - not because it's a bad book. Yes 1984 is frightening. Very frightening.
I'm currently playing catch-up, trying to read all of the books I should have read in my younger days. If I ever read a better book I will update this review, until then I must say 1984 is the best book I have ever read. |
| A Chilling Story | 2010-02-18 | 4 / 5 |
| 1984
By George Orwell
Signet Classics. $9.99
(Ages 14 and up)
Reviewed by:
High School Freshman
George Orwell is a gifted writer who has written many novels, several of them involving government and politics. In this creative and haunting book, he attempts to reach out to his readers to show them what the world might be if the use of technology and invasion of government without proper boundaries can be disastrous to humankind and society.
George Orwell, pseudonym of Eric Blair, wrote many novels in his lifetime. Many of Mr. Orwell's novels will be read from generation to generation. This was thanks to his great creativity in his writing. One good example of his imagination and creativity is when he wrote one of his most famous novels, which used symbolism to recognize the government, politicians, and effects of the Russian Revolution, is the short but clever book, Animal Farm. Mr. Orwell uses similar elements of government in 1984 to illustrate the evils of governments and what they can inflict on its people.
Based on the great detail, originality, and the vivid depiction of Winston's struggle in 1984, I believe the Mr. Orwell has successfully portrayed a negative utopia. For example, in part three, chapter five, Winston, the main character, was placed into the torture chamber of Room 101. Here, he was tortured and beaten in order to clear his head of freedom and independence in order to replace it with the government ideas and propaganda. This chapter shows that there is fragile line between governmental control and supervision, and the dangers of mind control in an entire society.
There are both weaknesses and strengths in this novel. One weakness is that George Orwell's explanation of societal views is complicated and difficult to understand without extensive knowledge of political ideologies. In order to fully comprehend what is going on and to understand the symbolism he is using, the reader must be knowledgeable in governmental studies. Although these factors seem to detract from the book, there is one important strength that really makes this book fantastic. This great strength is his use of symbolism and reference. There is more to the story than reader may initially think. I am sure if I reread this book ten or even twenty years from now, I will view this story in a different perspective.
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| 1984 book review | 2010-02-17 | 3 / 5 |
| As a freshman in high school who recently finished the book 1984, I have opinions on the book that might be a little different than most others'. I had read another one of George Orwell's books, Animal Farm, and was pretty disappointed. I liked the idea of the story, but I found it hard to get through at times. Since my eighth grade English George Orwell's work, and recommended that I give 1984 a try, I decided to read that for my first choice as a high school reading assignment.
I thought the book was very well written. I hadn't read many books with the same writing style that Orwell uses, which was a good change from what I usually read. Although his style was a good thing to try, I found reading it to be a very slow process. There is a lot of vocabulary that many kids and even adults don't know very well, which made it hard to understand the storyline at certain points. However, the paragraphs that follow usually helped me figure out what the author was trying to say or point out.
Although the author did a very good job writing the book, I wasn't entirely pleased with the whole story. I felt the story was very hard to understand at times, in addition to not understanding a decent amount of the words. George Orwell does a great job of keeping the reader guessing about future events, and leaving them astonished at the end, but all of those twists and turns can be confusing. I often had to reread a few events in the story before I fully
understood what was happening. Having to do this action several times throughout the book got a bit tiring after a while, and made me a little reluctant to move on in fear that I would have to do it again.
Even though the book has its ups and downs, I am undoubtedly happy about my decision to read this book. The dark and suspenseful story of a man and a woman opposing everything they have been taught about life and trying not to be suspected by their cruel government, kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole thing. Although it was difficult reading at times, and I felt like just giving up on it, the desire for more action and suspense kept me going. This is a great book for anyone who loves to read about action and suspense, and is up for a challenge.
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| The Greatest Novel Of The 20th Century | 2010-02-17 | 5 / 5 |
| George Orwell's "1984" is depressing. Very depressing. It is also a breathtakingly awesome work, and just as spellbinding some 60 years after it was first published. Despite the heavy subject matter, it's suprisingly easy to read. It is one of the truly essential classics of modern literature.
Winston Smith, Orwell's protagonist, was probably the first "conspiracy theorist." He knows Big Brother and the system are wrong, but is powerless to fight alone. When he breaks the taboo against writing, and states in his forbidden journal, "I know who, I know how, but I don't know why," he is speaking for generations of whistleblowers and conspiracy theorists to come.
So many common expressions were derived from "1984": Big Brother, the Thought Police, newspeak, doublethink, pidgeon holed, thought crime, among others. To those on the extremes of both the left and right wings of the political spectrum, Orwell's bleak and miserable forecast of the future was all too accurate. Doublethink, for instance, is an essential feature of modern establishment thinking. Reagan's deadly missile is named the "Peace Keeper." Born again fundamentalists simultaneously hold that all non-born againers (including Jews) are doomed to Hell, but blindly support everything Israel does. Most polls suggest a large majority of people disbelieve the official version of the JFK assassination, but the same numbers are also against a new investigation. Maddening examples of doublethink are everywhere.
If Orwell was alive today, he'd undoubtedly be on the outer fringes of political thought, alongside the "nut jobs" and "tin foilers" that the mainstream media and politicians love to disparage. He would probably be astounded at the continuing popularity of his nightmarish novel. He'd be even more baffled at how readers have consistently enjoyed it, recognized it for the brilliant work it is, and yet have appeared not to notice how similar to Oceania our present day society is. |
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