1984

by George Orwell

Paperback, 328 pages

English language

Published Aug. 31, 1963 by Signet Classics.

ISBN:: 978-0-451-52493-5
OCLC Number:: 913039905

(56 reviews)

The year 1984 has come and gone, but George Orwell's prophetic, nightmarish vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "negative utopia"—a startlingly original and haunting novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words. 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.

4 editions

Van Halbgott reviewed 1984: a novel by George Orwell (Signet Classics)

A political book I actually read?

2 stars

Uh…why did I read this again?

I mean, it was in my school at the time but I kind of moved from this kind of perspective of evil governments.

As a self-taught student of the Bible I don’t believe in just an evil society.

What I read, the whole world lies within the power of the evil one and God says he’ll destroy evil and cast all of it into the Pit and his Son will come back and rule the next kingdom should anyone on Earth believe in him.

So you see, I’m more religious than politically cynic and disobedient.

I admit I read this in school, but I question how this story was made.

Only because of my faith now.

George Orwell might be a good author for others, but with God and Jesus by my side what should I be reading?

Well, I did become religious when …

Uh…why did I read this again?

I mean, it was in my school at the time but I kind of moved from this kind of perspective of evil governments.

As a self-taught student of the Bible I don’t believe in just an evil society.

So you see, I’m more religious than politically cynic and disobedient.

I admit I read this in school, but I question how this story was made.

Only because of my faith now.

George Orwell might be a good author for others, but with God and Jesus by my side what should I be reading?

Well, I did become religious when I moved to Kentucky with my family.

So really I forgot this…strange book.

But thankfully, I’ve moved on from it.

Pradeep reviewed 1984 by George Orwell

Very good dystopian fiction

5 stars

Captures how much tyranny, abuse and manipulation can break people till they are no longer themselves.

dsctm3 reviewed 1984 by George Orwell

A masterpiece of dystopia. Incredible story exploring the outcome of fascism.

5 stars

I've read this book wanting to fully understand the concept "Orwellian". I was always able to conceputualize the idea of "Big Brother" but never really full understood.

This book certainly fufilled that quest for knowledge, and masterfully described a dystopian outome potentially arising from a outbreak of fascism. A perfect example of storytellying using a relatively plausible future arising from the Nazi regime and the rise 20th century authoritarianism.

JJ.Boston reviewed 1984 by George Orwell

My former favorite book, liked it better in my youth, but still really good

5 stars

My former favorite book (before I discovered The Moon is Down). I first read it in high school. I liked it better in my youth, when it appealed to the teen angst in me, but still a classic for a reason.

loppear reviewed 1984 by George Orwell

All the good quotes are in the first 60 pages.

3 stars

Simultaneously holds up as a totalitarian dystopia (better than Brave New World, a fitting comparison in some cringe ways), and so entrenched in our cultural understanding that it falls flat today. In line with Orwell's other writing, the focus is on the pressure on people in the upper class to revise their own memory and to brazenly rewrite history as a matter of policy.

lovecraft reviewed 1984: a novel by George Orwell (Signet Classics)

Horrifyingly Excellent

5 stars

Absolutely excellent book, a must read for everyone in my opinion. It does get a little dry at certain parts, but picks right back up. It is entirely worth pushing through.

The book expresses an insanely scary, yet completely plausible future of the world, or more likely certain places. Some places around the world share many similar core values with the world of 1984, which furthermore helps strengthen the fearful possibility. 1984 is a great fusion of non-fiction, history, futurism, and fiction in a dystopian world ruled by people who quite literally want nothing more than power, pure, unadulterated power. They will do anything to get it, and do anything to keep it. This is all done in a fictional world, but sometimes it really feels like you're reading non-fiction, due to how completely possible the world created is. Many values shown in the book, you hear and see about everyday in many aspects, especially politically. Some places in the world share similar structure and values to that of the powerful system in 1984. It strikes fear in the reader due to the relate-ability, and possibilities presented within the world of 1984. Furthermore, despite this book being written in 1949, and feels even more relevant now than ever before.