1984 Paperback – 1 May 2019

This is I think the greatest novel written by an English writer of the 20th Century. (I consider 'Ulysses' by James Joyce the single greatest novel of all time) and it's virtues have been rehearsed on numerous occasions on this site. What I find most frightening in the book is Orwell's analysis of 'Prole-feed' and his fears for the destruction of language already in evidence when the book was written. Just consider the rise of 'Prole-feed'. Shops full of trashy 'novels' by the likes of Jordan whilst quality books are hidden away or not even stocked. Trashy music by talentless so-called 'artists' filling shops whilst quality music (of all genres) is not stocked. 'Celeb' biographies and magazines designed to appeal to the mindless. Books by the likes of Clarkson. TV and Radio programmes hosted by people with the intellectual level beneath that of an amoeba. Orwell saw all of this. Yet the most frightening aspect of 1984 is the destruction of language as a vehicle for thought. As Syme states "Don't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we will make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it." Just consider how this has impacted on us. Education for the 'lower orders' pared down to a minimum and taught by indifferent, uninterested teachers. Any admiration for the finer arts is sneered at and considered 'elitist'; books and magazines dumbed down, written in the most rudimentary English featuring pasteboard characters , stupid names and cliche-ridden situations and written by talentless so-called authors - Why bother working hard and wasting your time learning if you can make a fortune through ignorance? Textspeak (how Orwellian that word is!) destroying words. The so-called campaign for plain English - why not educate people? As Orwell realised those in power (of all parties)need the great mass of uneducated or undereducated people to lie to whilst their children continue to obtain a decent education and thus retain power. Without a vocabulary you cannot think and in consequence realise what is happening to you, you are a prey to all the lies thrown at you and you are unable to do anything about it. Yes this is a book that is more true now than it has ver been. Sadly it's message is lost on too many people who cannot read it. And befgore the word 'elitist' is thrown at me. I was born in a small terraced house, my father was a plumber and I was given a state education and did not go on to university. But I was taught to THINK, accept nothing I was told to accept and deeply distrust all politicians. This is a great and very prescient books which should be read by everyone. If we heed it's warning the country would be a better place.

4¼ Out of 5Imagine a world where everything is controlled. And I'm not just talking the Nazi or Soviet kind of control. I'm talking control of EVERYTHING. Media, books, language, actions, thoughts, history - what people know and feel. It's terrifying because it's happened before to some extent. It could happen again... And I guess it would start small and get bigger and bigger until... Bam. Hello, Big Brother...Now don't forget:"Big Brother Is Watching You..."All the time. Everywhere. No matter why you are doing.This is the world Winston Smith lives in. This totalitarian state where every single thing is monitored and recorded - even thoughts. Where history and memories can be rewritten to fit with the ideals of the Ingsoc - the English Socialism Party.Free thinking is not acceptable - not ever. It is the worst crime you can commit.And yet this is what Winston is doing - thinking his own thoughts. And then he falls in love with Julia.Even with spies everywhere, they find themselves drawn towards rebellion, towards conspiracy.Bu nothing gets past Big Brother.Can Winston hold onto his love and freethinking through the tortures the Ministry of Love inflict on him?Through Room 101, where your worst nightmares come to life...?And never forget:"WAR IS PEACE'FREEDOM IS SLAVERY'IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH."When I was younger, adults would say things like: "oh, it's like Big Brother is watching you" or "well, that would be in my Room 101..." As a child, I didn't get it. It wasn't until the start of my AS Level English Lit that I finally understood it all. Sure, I'd heard of 1984, but I didn't realise that it was the book about Big Brother. So when my English teacher recommended reading it as an additional text, I was instantly intrigued. 1984 is seen as a literary classic and after reading it, I most certainly know why. It's mind-blowingly amazing and so very scary it's untrue. I can't recommend it enough!Now, dystopias are always scary. There's always the whole 'what if?' side of them, the feeling of foreboding you can't quite shake. 1984 is literally the king of all dystopias. It is scary as hell, probably because every single thing about it felt really like it could all happen tomorrow. Like a Big Brother is just round the corner. Or is here already, for all we know... Orwell has captured everything everyone fears most and turns it into a scary-as-hell story and world that is so real you could almost touch it, taste it, feel it.And I know characters aren't the big point of this book - being scared out of your mind might be, though - but I did really like Winston: he was a refreshing change in a world that pretty much lacked morals and free thinking. But what this book shows perfectly is that even the strongest character, even the ones with hatred and love and resolve inside, must struggle with everything they have to resist or fight back against the psychological control of a totalitarian dystopian world - and that not all will be successful...Speaking of, this dystopian world is the scariest I've come across. There were no laws, but if you did something they didn't like, you could be killed or sent to work camps. And someone was always watching you through various kinds of technology. And the children - God. They were terrifying. Did you know there was this kid in Nazi Germany who snitched on his own patents and was held up as a hero? Well, all the kids in 1984 were always listening, ready to turn their parents into Big Brother for some little treachery or another. Patents were scared of their own kids. Get why I was scared to death?! And the idea of Newspeak, the language that gets smaller over time, fascinated and horrified me. We live in a world where we can speak our minds and where we have so, so many words to choose from. But if all the dangerous, revolutionary words were taken out of our vocabulary, if we were restricted to certain words, how can we think for ourselves? How can we fight back when there aren't the words to do so? It's terrifying and intriguing all in one. Pure, terrifying genius.On a negative note, we know Winston can remember all the past - the bits before they were written from history and the people who disappeared, but I wasn't sure about everyone else - did they just know it all and keep quiet out of fear? Or did it all somehow get written out of their heads as the papers were rewritten? And if so, how? Damn these questions - they bugged me for ages. Still bug me, actually...But Orwell's writing was obviously amazing. The writing was beautiful and haunting, if a little heavy at times. Nonetheless, I could see everything so, so clearly in my head. And the plot was so very gripping its untrue. It was intense, suspenseful - the kind of plot where you could feel all that suspense building and building and building, waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. It was intense and terrifying. And oh so addictive.Some books are called classics even when they don't seem like them. 1984 was most definitely worthy of the title. It was psychologically terrifying, mentally challenging, totally and completely beyond words. 1984 was an amazing, powerful book that left me shaken up and reeling. Classics are classics for a reason, my teacher told me when I mentioned how brilliant it was. And in the case of 1984, it's a classic for a million and more reasons. It is most definitely a book everyone must read, a book I can't recommend enough.

Every so often I turn to a So Called Classic. 1984 is amazing. A story written in the kate 40s about the future run by Big Brother . What a mind Orwell Had . A Fantastic Story

Brilliant prophetic novel. A must read for everyone.

This book was compelling to see where the story led. It was so dark, sad and depressing yet frighteningly observant. A heavy read but a classic that's worth reading

Classic book and a Good read, crazy to think how long ago it was written.

There are few books that have really hooked me in. Sometimes I just read the words and have a superficial understanding of what is happening.This one though, just wow! Despite being written many decades ago, there are so many concepts that ring alarmingly true today in the 21st Century. This is black mirror before black mirror.There are many facets to this book: it is a melange of romance, sci fi, political and philosophical themes.I much prefer the parts involving the main character rather than when he was reading off the manual. Although pivotal to the story, I was much more engrossed in his personal life.The ebook that I downloaded seemed to have many editing errors: numbers omitted, spelling mistakes, different sized font and words overflowing onto the next line when there is ample space. However, it was a free ebook so I guess can’t complain too much.

This edition of 1984 is a visual masterpiece. The reimagined cover is haunting and powerful, capturing the tone of Orwell’s dystopian classic perfectly. The story remains as chilling and relevant as ever—a must-read for anyone interested in politics, power, and freedom. The quality of the print and binding is excellent, making it a great addition to any personal library.