Reviews with content warning for Suicide - 1984

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

1984 by George Orwell

52 reviews

brethetech's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I know it’s a classic for a reason and that it laid the foundation for so much more but please don’t go into this book thinking you’re going to gain much from it like I did.

At several points it felt like I just had to get through it to keep my promise to myself that I would read at least one classic this year.

The pacing was nice it skipped large swaths of time and lingered in moments but it always felt right.

But I was never attached to the main character, or any character at all, I didn’t learn anything, and I wasn’t entertained for more then a brief 50 or so pages where I wanted to know what would happen next.

If you want to read this for antiauthoritarianism, or because it’s a dystopia there are better picks nowadays that are both going to be more interesting and dive deeper into the topic. And in fact that is my main gripe with this that the facts that it presents are not novel to me, and it just keeps hammering them in instead of going deeper. I know they were novel at the time and even perhaps for a while after, or to a specific audience where this is a new topic but not to me, or probably anybody interested in reading books on this topic today.

Or maybe I’m just stupid and am missing something idk.

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lotta_8's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The book and its plot are heavy. It definitely took me a few chapters to get into the story. The plot itself is not very pleasant, however, it is impressive in what detail an author in 1948 was able to predict what was to happen e.g. in Germany just a couple of years later. Not a light read but definitely worth the effort.

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meant2breading's review

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

First time read. Brutal. Thought provoking for sure. I didn’t love this book, but I understand why this is a required read and banned book in some areas. The concepts like loss of individualism, dehumanization, and the meaning of ‘rats’ were very interesting. It’s not often that I dislike ALL of the characters, especially Winston’s perspective on women, but assuming this was purposeful. 😳

While I think everyone should read 1984, I don’t think this book is FOR everyone. For example, I recently saw someone on social media say that a clear parallel in Oceanian society to today’s society is the rise of feminism…🥴 Not for everyone in that it may require some logic to make some of the more prominent connections that Orwell likely intended. 🤭

Also, may not be for everyone as it’s quite dark. Strongly recommend to check trigger warnings. That ending sure had an impact.

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els4lp's review against another edition

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5.0

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brigg_sy's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cicizzy's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Einen Stern müsste ich bei dieser Version allein schon wegen des Vorworts abziehen. Habecks Vorwort spoilert den Inhalt des Buches. Als Nachwort wäre es weitaus besser gewesen.

Den Schreibstil und die Geschichte mochte ich gern. Es gab zwar auch viele Beschreibungen und wenig "zeigen" aber das hat mich nicht gestört. Christoph Maria Herbst hat das Buch einfach wunderbar vorgelesen (bis auf ein paar englische Teile, die doch sehr deutsch klangen).
Beim Hören des Buches musste ich öfters an Edward Snowden und seine Enthüllungen, die Möglichkeiten der heutigen Technik zur Überwachung oder auch China und Nordkorea denken. Es ist schon erschreckend, wie viel ein Staat kontrollieren und wissen könnte, wenn er wollte.

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