snowless's review
The sexism was so egregious it distracted from the narrative.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
itsyourgalyazza's review
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Murder, War, and Violence
Minor: Rape
salem0's review
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
read by: early dec 2022
reviewed: sept 23 2023
honestly really good, the ending was quite provoking. as a character, winston's not very likeable and a bit bland at times but it's still really interesting to see his journey throughout the book. the author does a good job at keeping the atmosphere tense, which makes for a gripping read. but again- the ending, however dark it is, is the most memorable part of this.
reviewed: sept 23 2023
honestly really good, the ending was quite provoking. as a character, winston's not very likeable and a bit bland at times but it's still really interesting to see his journey throughout the book. the author does a good job at keeping the atmosphere tense, which makes for a gripping read. but again- the ending, however dark it is, is the most memorable part of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Misogyny
kittygracex07's review
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Torture, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Alcoholism, Classism, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and War
Minor: Death of parent, Misogyny, and Rape
leeela's review against another edition
dark
reflective
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
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Gaslighting
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Police brutality, Vomit, War, and Violence
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.
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.
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
helenaruby's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Police brutality, Torture, Drug abuse, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, War, and Racism
books_because_why_not's review
dark
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
The characters in this book were pretty good. I think it was extremely clear each motivation the characters had and understandable reasoning between the actions in the book. My only problem was with the mc, Winston. He was quite misogynistic in the beginning (luckily this part of his character was not shown as much as the book progressed).
I think if there was a setting that I would never want to be stuck in, it would be this book. The world is described really well. I find it so interesting how the author presents that authoritative rule can only last if everyone is suffering to some degree.
I think the writing in this book was pretty good, but I did find myself bored in some parts. I think this was my fault because I was on a schedule to read this book and I just really wanted to be done with the book as soon as possible. The author describes in great detail the societal structure. While this is good for understanding the world, it is slightly boring especially when it is explained all at once with no jumps back to the story to give the reader a break. Also, the latter half of the book was hard to get through because there were so many oxymorons.
I will say that the general plot of this story is not one I’m used to, but I still liked it. The story follows the character arc of Winston. It explores both sides of the coin of authoritative rule and its effects on people. I will say the ending is certainly not what I had expected.
This book had generally standard pacing with the exception of a long segment dedicated to world-building. I was not on-edge while I was reading, but that does not mean it was a bad book.
In general, I found this book to tell an interesting story and had some fascinating commentary on society and government. I think I ruined my enjoyment by trying to read this book too quickly, but I’m not going to take points for something that was my own doing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Torture, Classism, and Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny and Sexism
verinvaldez's review against another edition
The book has brilliant ideas but every other aspect of this book resulted in me feeling like I had to force myself to keep going. This book is by no means fun or enjoyable, I thought I'd be able to push through because of the interesting ideas but when Winston spends 31 pages reading a dense book I decided that was enough.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
natalia64's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Tiene cosas muy interesantes y vigentes para las discusiones actuales, pero no me resultó tan alucinante porque ya pasaron muchísimos años de su primera edición y tuvo un impacto muy significativo en la cultura masiva occidental - había ideas que me parecían interesantes, pero conocidas. No me resultaron tan atrapantes los fragmentos tan largos de "explicación del regimen" (en particular el capítulo del libro de Goldstein, que está metido dentro del capítulo sin ninguna observación/pensamiento del personaje), me pareció que sumaba más y era mucho más efectivo a nivel idea-experiencia de lectura-efecto de sentido cuando narraba y atravesaba "la teoría" con lo más vivencial del personaje.
La homosexualidad es un tema recurrente en el libro: el Socing lo considera como "poco deseable" y una "desviación". La sexualidad es hetero, pero desligada siempre de todo tipo de deseo - el acto sexual tiene que ser no-placentero y con el único fin de la reproducción. Sin embargo,
Con respecto al ritmo, se relaciona con lo que decía al principio: cuando es más narrativo, cuando se enfoca en contar ese mundo "desde el cuerpo" me resultó rápidísimo y demasiado interesante. En este sentido creo que el principio, la mitad tardía y el mismo final son los más atrapantes.
Con el epílogo me cerró más la postura de Orwell porque me faltaba info de contexto . Creo que si lo hubiera leído antes de cursar Historia Social General e Historia Arg no hubiera cazado tanto de las críticas particulares.
La homosexualidad es un tema recurrente en el libro: el Socing lo considera como "poco deseable" y una "desviación". La sexualidad es hetero, pero desligada siempre de todo tipo de deseo - el acto sexual tiene que ser no-placentero y con el único fin de la reproducción. Sin embargo,
Spoiler
Winston, el protagonista, piensa en O'Brien desde que lo comienza a registrar hasta en la misma sala de torturas de una forma que dista la sencilla admiración fraternal. A veces me preguntaba si era que yo estaba leyendo "demás", aberrantemente (Umberto Eco), la relación en un instinto de re-lectura queer (me acordaba del canal Are they gay?) porque cuando mi mamá lo leyó en su momento ni se le cruzó. Cuando pensaba en Julia, incluso en alguna fantasía sexual, empezaba a pensar en O'Brien. Para mí, que se sienta tan "comprendido" cuando O'Brien lo TORTURA es porque le pasan otras cosas. Siento que toda la temática de la homosexualidad de Winston es todo un ejemplo de doblepiensa, salvo que este está tan preparado con las barreras del antecrímen que ni se le ocurre. Si 1984 hubiera sido escrito en el SXXI, hubieran sido un poco más canónicos. Incluso sin perder el mensaje y aumentando la "traición" de O'Brien.Con respecto al ritmo, se relaciona con lo que decía al principio: cuando es más narrativo, cuando se enfoca en contar ese mundo "desde el cuerpo" me resultó rápidísimo y demasiado interesante. En este sentido creo que el principio, la mitad tardía y el mismo final son los más atrapantes.
Spoiler
Las torturas en el Ministerio del Amor fueron adictivas de leer, visuales, potentes. Llegué tarde a una juntada porque no me di cuenta que había pasado tanto tiempo. Tenía que seguir leyendo para detener el dolor. Con la tortura de la habitación 101 tuve que parar un segundo de leer, consideré dejarlo ahí, pero no pude. Di vuelta la página y me encontré leyendo la restitución a la sociedad de Winston. Primero no entendí, pensaba "debe ser un sueño" y después "debe ser una farsa", no lo pueden haber roto tanto. Fue tristísimo y amargo ese final. Yo seguía esperando una revolución, aunque sea leve, aunque sea emocional. Que cuando vea a Julia, además del vuelco en el corazón (quizá una mínima revolución - la primeridad no la pueden borrar con ninguna tortura), ambos sientan una conexión, una cuestión duradera, la continuidad del flechazo. El mismo personaje lo dice: podrían tener relaciones ahí nomás, en el espacio público, pero son distintos, eso ya no está, la desilusión y la desesperanza le ganaron al deseo, a la utopía y a que valga la pena arriesgarse. En ese pasaje no priman los antecrímenes, como en la escena del bar y Africa.Con el epílogo me cerró más la postura de Orwell porque me faltaba info de contexto
Spoiler
sobre el partido laborista inglés y pensé que sólo criticaba al stalinismo
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Police brutality, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Slavery