1984: 75th Anniversary

Erich Fromm (Afterword), Dolen Perkins-Valdez (Introduction), and Sandra Newman (Afterword)

Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever...

This 75th Anniversary Edition includes:
• A New Introduction by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Take My Hand, winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work—Fiction
• A New Afterword by Sandra Newman, author of Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984

“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can’t escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching...

A startling and haunting novel, 1984 creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the novel’s hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions—a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

• Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read •

• ISBN10: 0451524934
• ISBN13: 9780451524935
• Publish Date: 1 July 1950
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 29 January 2010
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
• Imprint: Signet
• Format: Paperback (US Tall Rack)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780451524935

Reviews

[cornerfolds]

As a lover of dystopian fiction, 1984 is one I've heard about over and over for as long as I can remember. I've always had some interest in reading it, but classics from this time period usually bore me to tears and I was scared to give it a try. When sales surged after the recent election, I officially added it to my TBR and finally decided to read it a few weeks ago. I should've listened to my gut.

This book started interestingly enough, jumping right into the world building. I was intrigued by the disturbing society and attempted to draw the parallels between this world and our society. The main character (I don't remember his name - was it mentioned?) was a bit of a rebel, which I liked. I enjoyed the little tidbits about the world before, but really wished there was more of it. I definitely would like to know more about how the world got to the state it was in.

The other thing I wished there was more of (or any of) was action. So much of what I read was world building, I would have loved to have seen anything happen whatsoever! The world was interesting, yes, but not interesting enough to keep me turning pages.

Alas, I gave up at under 50% in. It's very possible that my issues with this book were solved a few pages after I finally gave up, but I just couldn't force myself to continue. I know that there was a movie made and maybe I'll give that a try to see what happens after I gave up!

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

I think this book is better approached by an adult than a high school freshman. The philosophical undertones are much more difficult to relate to as a hopeful 14-year-old than a cynical adult. I’m glad I revisited this one.

You have three characters that really matter: Winston, Julia, and O’Brien. None of them are likable – Winston is the perfect vision of a disgruntled middle-aged man; Julia is a sex-crazed, flighty young woman; and O’Brien is a shadowy figure who is utterly deluded. While I don’t expect to like all the characters, it certainly helps to find at least one likable.

The story takes place in London, 1984. The flats have been turned into tenements and Oceania (there are three countries now – Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia) is constantly at war with… someone. Written in 1949, this story certainly gives a chill about what the world could look like 40 years in the future. With the exception of fashion choices (overalls) the world is described well enough to feel real, while leaving much to the reader’s imagination.

The dystopia element of the tale is where the book shines. A successful dystopia chooses one aspect – in this case, freedom – and threatens it to show what a future would look like if something changed this aspect. There is usually a disaster involved (war) and there is usually governmental interference (Big Brother). Winston starts as a traditional “my life sucks” kinda guy, but it’s not the first half of the story that I find impressive. It’s the second half, with the breaking of Winston. I won’t go into too much detail for those who haven’t read it, but the torture techniques are interesting (in a horrifying way) and the lack of happy ending is important. Far too many dystopias have happy endings, and that sort of defies the point.

I don’t mind Orwell’s writing style, which surprised me considering the genre and age of the book. A lot of older science fiction I personally find monotonous, but the balance of detail and directness was perfect and it didn’t drag too terribly. I think the length is perfect – if anything, it could be a little shorter. It feels a bit rushed in places, by retrospectively, I think that pacing works in the situations presented.

I still don’t love this book. I can’t get past how little I like Winston. And Julia. O’Brien is… alright, but overall I feel I need to love at least one character to love the book. I did find the philosophy of the book intriguing, especially with the current state of our country and the fear that’s running rampant… but this book didn’t live up to my expectations. I wanted it to feel revolutionary, but it felt like a small glimpse into a bigger, darker story.

[angelarenea9]

I initially did not like this book at all and thought it was boring and irritating. I did enjoy it more about half way through in the way that the story explored the world and what did/did not would/would not happen and why. While I wouldn't say that I loved this book, or even that I liked it, I enjoyed it a lot more than I initially thought that I would and got more out it than I expected. It is defiantly a book I could think about, and one that I am glad, should the occasion arise, that I can now have a conversation about it. I also really enjoyed the Appendix, with the explanation about the way the party was changing language. I thought that that portion was very interesting.

[stefu1]

Really good dystopian book, the content keeps you hungry for more.

[adamfortuna]

I can only hear about a book so long before eventually reading it. Although 1984 is known for it's totalitarian state where everything is watched by the government, what interested me most were the ideas around war involved in the book. The perpetual war idea hits closer to home now than anytime in our countries history -- with the Afghan war hitting 12 years.

[thepunktheory]

George Orwell draws a very realistic image of a world in total control. Several time throughout the book I had goosebumps as the story is not too far from the world we are living in. He creates an intricate net of politics and rules in a world of total control. It's incredible how elaborate his description is. Orwell dives deep into the human mind and gives an analysis of people's thoughts in the eye of terror.
After wanting to get around it for a long time I finally read it. You should do to. The book animates to think about the way you live and about our world in general. You needn't think too hard to see clear connections to our current system.

[Amber]

1984 is another of those annoying mixed-feelings books. Don't you just hate those? I sure do, because I never know if I'm going to change my mind later on, or if I did actually enjoy the book. For that reason, I am rating this as Hodgepodge, because I don't even know what my thoughts are. Also, this is the first time I'm reviewing a classic on this blog. It's not even really a review, just my thoughts. But isn't that what reviews are?

Full review on Books of Amber

[nightingalereads]

A bit disturbing, and I thought the characters lacked interest. But it did make me think.

[clementine]

I feel like everything I could possibly say about this book has been said many times, and so much more eloquently than I could ever put it. First and foremost, this book isn't like any dystopian fiction I've ever read. Every other novel in the same genre pales in comparison. 1984 is wholly devastating, horrifying, and downright depressing. Its scope is remarkable and the various details of life in Oceania are chilling and really amazing. The ending is just as horrifying as the rest of the book. I really enjoyed the juxtaposition of how Wintson hated Julia at first but ended up falling in love with her and trusted O'Brien from the beginning and ended up being betrayed by him. I feel like that is just very indicative of the society/dynamic in the novel - your only choice is to go on instinct, but instinct isn't infallible.

This is really scattered and the opposite of thorough but I just feel like I can't add anything that hasn't already been said.

[celinenyx]

Three and a half stars actually. Didn't understand the characters at all. The world was actually quite interesting, wished he would have just sticked to that and didn't throw in horrible one-dimensional characters without any redeeming qualities.