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What are readers saying about 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four?
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-27 01:23:32.
(Language: English)
  
Just in case you haven't read it yet, spoiler alert***Great book but how totally depressing. I was really hoping for a happier ending, a show of human spirit and it's ability rise up against any oppression. But no, instead you have a broken man who becomes successfully brainwashed only to have it all blown out by a bullet to the back of the head. Considering his end state though, his loss of humanity, of love, of reality, I guess the bullet was simply a blessing anyway. 
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Maarten posted a review at 2012-07-04 10:48:36.
(Language: English)
Arguably one of the best books ever...but I actually think Animal Farm is even better.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-07-04 11:00:52.
(Language: English)
For a book that was originally published in 1949, it reads like it was just written yesterday. The parallels that can be drawn between Oceanic society and present-day American society are innumerable. ...far too many individuals are thoughtless drones... Failure to prevent the fruition of ideas presented in this book displays how man is incapable of learning from himself and history and is nothing more than a willing participate in his own demise.
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Peachy posted a review at 2010-04-10 07:07:10.
(Language: English)
A haunting and tragic tale of a dystopic existence under a totalitarian regime, told by one of the best political writers of our time. This is a classic that is quoted in everyday popular culture, from 'Big Brother' to NewSpeak. It's a timeless work of 'Fiction,' and is a must have for all bookshelves. I'm left pondering how Orwell would reflect on Facebook if he were here to see it? Check out more of my reviews at BookSnakeReviews
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-09-24 06:33:10.
(Language: English)
Whoa. What else is there to say? A frightening view into a possible future that is as relevant today as it was in 1949. This would have scared the shit outta me then, and its not so far fetched still. Thought provoking, hard to put down, and engaging story. Must read!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-04 10:52:41.
(Language: English)
Reading this book should be a prerequisite to graduating high-school. (Personally, I went to a religious school, where they wouldn't teach the book because it had a sex scene in it...nyeh) I'm not going to say much about this book (enough has been said) except for this point; everybody keeps talking about big brother and surveillance as the "big bad" in this book, but they overlook a more lasting and I think more imperative point about how language and facts can be twisted and distorted by politicians (though increased surveillance and such is definitely an issue in today's twisted world). I'd recommend reading this book in tandem with Orwell's essay "Politics and the English Language" in order to really 'get it'. There are definitely other anti-utopia books that are more predictive (I'm thinkin' Fahrenheit 451), but none I've read so far are as engrossing as 1984. Read it now!
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-05 03:36:27.
(Language: English)
Loved it. I am really passionate about this book and this writer. I love George Orwell, and I will continue to read him. The charcter progression in the novel was good. I felt like I knew the characters in the book, and that I was a part of the pain that was being felt. All of the emotions, and feelings portrayed by the characters actions in the novel were written well and in a style that makes you think about what isn't being said or done. I enjoyed the ending. It seemed the most realistic. Through out the book, I always wondered how the book would end, and then when I read the last page it made so much sense. Orwell predicted accurately the state of affairs in todays world. I have great respect for Orwell, and enjoyed the thrilling style of his writing. Great book for anyone who cares about the state of humanity and whoever thinks that Democracy is possible forever.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-09-05 12:41:35.
(Language: English)
1984 je Orvelova vizija buducnosti u Engleskoj i citavom svetu. Opisuje totalitarne rezime koji vladaju u citavom svetu, s tim sto je sada planeta podeljena na 3 velika bloka koja su konstantno u medjusobnim sukobima. Rat je neprestan, samo se protivnik i saradnik menja s vremena na vreme, ali to niko ne sme da spomene jer bi to znacilo da je Parija pogresila i da Veliki brat nije u pravu. Vrlo je slikovito prikazana atmosfera konstantne napetosti, straha za sopstveni zivot i borbe za prihvatanje kontrole misli posto u suprotnom ispadas iz igre. Veliki brat sve vidi! P.S. Ovo je omiljena knjiga Jelene Karleuse, ako ni zbog ceg drugog, onda zbog toga, morate je procitati! :P
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justin posted a review at 2012-01-04 07:43:42.
(Language: English)
Orwell has always been one of my favorite writers. "1984" is the pinnacle of his work in my opinion. A masterfully crafted scifi classic that gives me a cold chill down my spine even to this day. I also think "logan's run" is a blatant rip-off of "1984"
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jill posted a review at 2012-03-09 10:22:31.
(Language: English)
realistic fiction!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-01 03:36:32.
(Language: English)
I looked forward to reading this book with some anticipation, despite it sitting on my bookshelf for a very long time before I read it, and I have to say I was slightly disappointed. Although the concepts put forward must have been new and challenging when the book was written, now they are widely understood and do not quite make up for teh meagreness of the plot. Nevertheless, I reccomend it. I was really looking forward to reading this, despite it sitting on my shelf unread for a very long time. However, I was mildly disappointed at it. Perhaps because, although when it was written the concepts were new and fresh and hid the meagreness of the plot, now all the ideas in the book are commonly understood. Nevertheless, the ideas in it are still frightening enough, especially in this age of digitalization. A good read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-25 08:58:48.
(Language: English)
Scary that so much is true. Follow Winston's internal monologues and see how much makes sense. This was Orwell's last book, written in the crux of his disenchantment with ideologies on the right and on the left alike, and always remember that just in case you thought the Cold War ended in 1990, the following quote: 'Oceania was at war with Eastasia : Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia. A large part of the political literature of five years was now completely obsolete. '. Orwell foretold the rise of Kissinger's big-power M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) and 'Containment' policies which preserve a global balance between roughly equal power blocs at the expense of the peace and security of peripheral nations and peoples. He also captured the warped psychology of totalitarian systems everywhere.
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Dani posted a review at 2009-08-07 04:41:03.
(Language: Catalan)
D'entrada, quedi clar que no és un llibre per divertir-se, sinó que és una mena d'assaig polític i social sobre un món on la manipulació de la publicitat, la cultura i la opinió creen una societat que és mentida de dalt a baix...És un tot clàssic de la literatura, i tot i estar escrit fa més de 60 anys, és vàlid des de tots els punts de vista, es manté totalment actual, i t'obliga a aturar-te de tant en quant per pensar en quin punt d'aquesta societat estem. A més, és força dur, i ataca bastant la consciència. Cal saber què es va a llegir quan s'agafa.
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Allison posted a review at 2012-03-20 02:27:23.
(Language: English)
truth is scary than fiction
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-14 12:44:37.
(Language: English)
The book was just outstanding in its ability to convey in some rational since a society so devoid of intelligence and will that it came under the control of big brother; Big brother , a character that to many of who have read this novel does not seem to have existed. The implications of this book go much beyond rejecting the communist manifesto and portrait the idea of what a totalitarian society can do to progress, to the thinking mind. This book is a statement of the danger in putting to much powers in the hands of a government. The ending in was repulsive. No human being with a sense of hope would have ever thought that Winston would have even thought of surrendering to totalitarianism, our hope was that rebellion as found in brave-heart would spring up in him or anybody else in such a society but for the prize of a broken heart we found out that this did not happened and was never to happen.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-29 09:54:25.
(Language: English)
This dystopian novel successully and intelligently portrays a strikingly believable world where 'big brother' is constantly watching; a world where movement is restricted, and people's lives are prescribed to them by 'the party'. We find that through ingsoc, a type of socialist-collectivism, the party rules simply for control, and, in 'healing' Winston Smith, the primary male protagonist, we learn that the party does not pretend to be doing anything else. An absolutely outstanding read, gripping, and rather more believable than is comfortable. Despite having been written nearly a century ago, 'Nineteen-eighty four' reads in an understatedly simple, yet contemporary style. Orwell's constant use of the personal pronoun 'I' and first-person narrative brings the novel to life.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-10-26 02:17:03.
(Language: English)
I enjoyed this book for what it is, and what Orwell was trying to portray as the downsides of "communism in action", but I still favor Animal Farm as a much better, more concise example of the failings of Stalin/Lenin's Soviet Union. I know it's heresy to say this but does 1984 really have to be as long as it is? Orwell paints an excellent picture of the nightmare of a totalitarian state but I still get the feeling that this book drags on for about 100 pages too long. Maybe I'm just a lazy reader, I don't know.
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A Reader posted a review at 2012-01-11 11:11:58.
(Language: English)
great book, very creepy how it collaborates with the current times
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David posted a review at 2011-12-20 06:49:33.
(Language: English)
brave new world was better
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-01 08:59:32.
(Language: English)
This is a very disturbing and depressing book, and it's one of my favourites. I felt so bad for the poor hopeless characters as they struggled to try and escape from the crushing grip their government/corporation had on them. It's the same way I feel for people today. I don't believe Orwell was prophesying when writing this story. The foundations were there in many countries of his time, and you only have only to look at history to find the same types of things happening, over and over again (sans technology of course). Hope keeps the protagonists going and the reader reading but eventually it disappears and the inevitable happens. Refreshing to read a book without a happy ending, yet disturbing, especially considering the similarities to our world today.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-12-12 09:30:23.
(Language: English)
I very much enjoyed this novel. At times i did find it difficult to read as it written back in the 50's so the flow is not as dynamic as contemporary works. It is also strange to hear references to 1984 being the future. Many of the issues raised are very applicable to what is happening today with the culture of fear as means of controlling people and how people only believe what they are fed. At times i did feel as if the book was more than a story and moved into political polemic which i did not enjoy. Other moments in the book reminded me of the Maoist Regime in China which i learnt about through Jung Chang's "Wild Swans". If you are into something a bit austere and grim this book is well worth it.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-04-01 07:12:07.
(Language: English)
If "Animal Farm" was dark, then this is gloomier a hundred times more. Forget about Politics, give the right direction to your thought, and the Big Brother will become God, while Eastasia and Eurasia might well be other religions. Man, the similarities are stunning. You will see how scientific thought, doubting the Big B and the human emotions are considered crimes (sins in our current tongue).
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-11-11 08:00:28.
(Language: English)
One of my new favorites. Really interesting and creepy depiction of a future world.
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-11-18 10:11:55.
(Language: English)
loved it..makes you wonder if in certain countries life is actually like this (minus the pills)
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