Reviews tagging 'Child death'

1984 by George Orwell

29 reviews

cowardlyteaman's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

To be honest, I kind of feel like George Orwell gaslighted me. The first half of this book was just---bad. I didn't like it. Not in the slightest.

Winston would randomly get this urge to either rape or kill people who did nothing else but exist in his presence. It was tiring, not thought-provoking. I liked him much better in part three of the book, though! Ironically enough, maybe, but his whole character during part one and two was being a pig. That was completely out of focus during part three! Splendid.

Julia should have been removed entirely. I didn't like her in the beginning, and I didn't like her at the end. Her whole character was having sex and saying foul things. If you try too hard to make a character who's supposed to be controversial and rebellious, you end up with a character I only want to die in a pit.

O'Brien.🫶 He saved the book, to be honest. I genuinely believe that this book would have been 5 stars for me if Orwell had removed Julia and spent more time building on Winston and O'Brien's relationship instead.

All in all, I do believe that this book was worth it. I read it for history, and during the first half, I thought of this book as complete and utter bullshit. But at least I came to like it—really like it towards the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Racism, Body horror, Child death, Abandonment, Xenophobia, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape

susie_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

The additional essays at the back of the book are excellent. They are about the use of language-in the book and in real life; the dropping of the atom bomb; and several short items written by Orwell’s contemporaries to him or about him. The extensive notes section is also helpful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body horror and Body shaming

Minor: Child death and Suicidal thoughts

iwishihadmoretimetoread's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This book is an amazing work of art and I think it is important for everyone to read it, however it was quite difficult to get through and very difficult emotionally.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Vomit, War, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

Minor: Antisemitism

elijah__'s review against another edition

dark tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism, Child death, Classism, and Alcohol

elihrus's review

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Blood, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Gore

Moderate: Antisemitism, Police brutality, and Sexual content

Minor: Rape, Alcohol, Slavery, and Abandonment

gabriella_'s review

reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

why do British dystopians always have a nursery rhyme involved? it takes me out because it’s juvenile in an otherwise pretty heavy story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Medical trauma, Torture, Body shaming, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child death, War, Kidnapping, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Police brutality, Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

daybreakreads's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

1.0

Painfully slow, dull writing. I normally enjoy dystopian novels but this one was just trying too har. Everything was for shock value, which ended up making nothing surprising. I find it ironic that the story involves sending a warning against scaring people into believing your political ideologies, but the author is a socialist and is advocating for socialism. The government claims to be socialist, but at one point it’s revealed it’s not actually socialist, and the only way forward is to become socialist. I don’t care what your political leanings are, there’s blatant hypocrisy by the author in trying to scare people into becoming socialist whilst advocating against scaring people into agreeing with your political opinions.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, and Racism

Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Sexual violence, Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexism, and War

One n word usage

kaymay29's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Moderate: Stalking, Slavery, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, and Death of parent

lucasgillon's review

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

If you ignore the political theory section then you're a coward

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Abandonment

emily_bg's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I found this an uncomfortable read. A lot of issues are still relevant today.

I enjoyed the book and thought it was cleverly written and very haunting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and Child death