Nineteen Eighty-Four - Book Review

The year is 1984; the scene is London, largest population center of Airstrip One. Airstrip One is part of the vast political entity Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment, depending upon current alignments, all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston Smith knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant "correction" of such records. "'Who controls the past,' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.'"

In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party's official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

I know that this book is thought of as a classic and has introduced words like Big Brother and Orwellian to the English language, but I just didn't find it to be a page turner. Sure, the idea of a government completely controlling all aspects of every citizen sounds intriguing, but there's only so much conspiracy talk I can handle before it becomes stale, depressing and boring. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a complete snoozefest. I was able to appreciate the imagination of Orwell and the time it must have taken to create the frightening world of Oceania, complete with its own language. I suppose my main gripe was with the length of the book. It tended to drag at times and would have been much better with a little more editing.

When the book was released in 1949, I'm sure the "Big Brother controls all information" message in the book would have hit harder than it does today. Now, there are a lot more information sources than there was back then, so the thought of Big Brother controlling all content and changing historical references to suit their needs seems a lot more far fetched now than it would have back then. Of course, you never know, Big Brother could have created all the new media sources to spread their messages quicker and broader. If that's the case, I just committed thoughtcrime and the Thought Police will be knocking on my door any second to snuff me out - crap!

Seriously, I think this book is worth a read if you haven't ever read it. If nothing else, it should make you realize that our government is not that bad and you should also learn some new vocabulary words. However, if you're depressed or believe in government conspiracy theories, steer clear of this book - it will only make your outlook of the world worse.


Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I read it again: No

Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
Hardcover: 330 pages
Released: 1949