Nineteen Eighty-four - George Orwell

This was (and still is) one of my most favourite novels I have ever read, and I've read it a few times. Normally I would never read a novel more than once but the dystopian world which George Orwell portrays is magnificent. I first read this novel a couple of years ago when I was studying English Literature and it was the only novel that I studied that I actually enjoyed, from the start all the way through there is suspense on an unprecidented scale and even though the novel was written and published around 1948-9 it can be seen as a prophetic piece as many of the things that Orwell touches upon in the book have actually happend (although not as ...  Read the complete review

The time when Orwell was writing this book was only a few years after the end of World War Two, in 1949. Around this period there were huge differences in political views around the world. There was the American approach of democracy, where everyone had the right to vote for a leader; and the communist approach of Stalin's Russia where everyone was meant to be equal. However that state was far from what it claimed to be, and was a completely totalitarianism regime in which Stalin and Co. controlled everything that happened in the state, leaving the public with absolutely no say in political affairs. The latter society mentioned is almost exactly like the society depicted ...  Read the complete review

I'll assume most people will have heard of Orwell's 1984 - even if you have only the vaguest idea what it's about, certain phrases such as Big Brother and Room 101 have become parts of our popular culture (generally for the worse of TV). The fact that the book itself may be described as literature, however, means I reckon far fewer have actually read it unless given the chance/forced to at school. Certainly that was the case for me, until this summer when I decided to put that right. 1984 was Orwell's final novel, written in 1948 (he simply transposed the last two digits to set his dystopian vision in the not-so-distant future). It's actually amazing that it ...  Read the complete review

Hunting around Amazon for something to read I stumbled across this classic and decided that it was high time I read it. Although I am not the biggest fan, shamefully I must admit I do sometimes watch Channel Four's Big Brother when it's on and also Room 101 (which appears in the novel) therefore was intrigued to discover where these ideas had originated from. PLOT SYNOPSIS Written in 1949, George Orwell set this novel in the then future of 1984. From the very first page we are enveloped in Winston Smith's grim existence - boiled cabbage, an out of order lift in his apartment due to the electricity being cut off during the day and a ...  Read the complete review

'1984' is very difficult to define. It can be viewed as a prophetic vision of the future, as pure science fiction, as political commentary or even a tragic love story. Its enduring appeal and its greatness as a novel is due to the fact that all these labels apply. In order to understand the motivation behind writing 1984 we have to know a little about the author George Orwell and the times in which he lived. *THE AUTHOR George Orwell was born Eric Blair in 1903, he described himself as ‘lower-upper-middle class’ although he had a privileged upbringing he never felt comfortable with it. From an early age he felt strongly ...  Read the complete review