I liked it; it was good
Given the current political climate, I thought this book was in need of a reread.
Read: Mar. 20 – Mar. 22, 2025
Genre: Classic, Dystopia
Audience: Adult, Mature
Book contains: dystopian society, war, hatred, violence, brainwashing, falsifying of facts, implied sexual content, torture
Purchase a copy from Indigo.ca
Winston Smith is a man like all other middle-aged men in London under the guidance of Big Brother, but he has a secret. He has purchased a diary, which have been abolished and forbidden. Just the owning of this diary is sure to get him killed, and he owns it—and more.
This book was a terrifying reality when I first read it in eleventh grade, and it’s still terrifying now, rereading it while the world is slowly falling into further crisis. It seems like something impossible at the same time as it seems likely to come.
Written in three sections, this book follows thirty-nine-year-old Winston Smith with a third person perspective, and yet he remains an unreliable narrator, as when he references to memories of his, some prove inconsistent with other recollections of his. He knows things before they happen, and yet is so trusting of his own memory that he is not startled by this, for there is no way he’s seen it before. The reader is led along this path, wondering if Winston will succeed in breaking free from the oppressive society, yet knowing that it’s a futile endeavour.
I listened along to this book at double speed, partially just listening while I was hiking, and partially with the physical book in front of me before bed. I once again turned to Spotify for an audio version, and found a recording by Anna B, who read in sections by chapter. She was quite an adept reader.
Though I don’t like Winston as a person (he is too selfish and violent and crude for my liking) I can appreciate him as a character. He’s a product of the society he lives in, slave to his baser instincts like any other. Julia is a very one-note character, not questioning as Winston questions, as she knows no other life. Other characters, such as O’Brien, Parsons, and the other workers in Winston’s department, all represent some portion of society or other and are easily interpreted to an analytic reader.
Winston and Julia’s relationship is problematic, but it’s almost funny that Julia has been defying the party for years before it is Winston who leads to her inevitable ruin. Winston’s relationship with Reality and Trust and Sex all take turns within the novel, so much so that the reader themselves aren’t sure what to believe.
Orwell’s style of writing isn’t always understandable, but I think the main message always comes across clearly. The themes are deeply embedded, and the messages are obvious to any reader. The world isn’t right, but there is no power in any but the ruling class. Everyone is oppressed, but with nothing to compare it to, they do not know they are oppressed. It’s a scary thing, and Orwell is skilled at enhancing that fear as well as downplaying it through Winston’s voice—his mixture of acceptance of certain things and the disconcerting feeling he gets from others.
The pacing was as expected. The reader is not always aware of where the book is leading, but Winston is clearly moving towards something, which the reader anticipates. It allows Orwell to dive deeper into his world and explain the horrors contained within as a way of enlightening the reader with context, rather than boring the reader with endless exposition.
This is a book I recommend to those looking to elevate their understanding of human cruelty, to safeguard against it. It’s one of those books that’s highly valuable for society, so that we do not become like it.
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Hunger Games Book 1: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Divergent Book 1: Divergent by Veronica Roth
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
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