milda_mark's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Misogyny, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Alcoholism
elaa0907's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
slow-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? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Rape
You will find The first part incredibly boring, the second and third part however are fast paced and interesting with a lot of plot twistsmganallirt's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
lara_k's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Murder, Body horror, Deportation, Mental illness, and War
stinkyfrog's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Stalking
laurenzokro's review against another edition
dark
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? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Misogyny and Vomit
ana21's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/injury detail, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content
bunnylewis's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
This book changed me. I don’t know if it’s in a positive or negative way, but it did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, and War
welllovedspines's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
TL;DR: This book should be required reading. It's one that I will continue to revisit in the future, which will either be terrifying in its accuracy or reassuring that we aren't quite at the dystopic reality in Orwell's classic work. Not an easy read, but one I consider to be vital. However, we can't overlook Orwell's problematic writings.
_____
I truly cannot believe it took me as long as it did to finally read this book. I was a huge fan of Animal Farm in high school and enjoyed the allegoric nature of the book. 1984 is also in that vein.
I think what shocked me the most while reading was the fact that the book was written in the 1940s and that there were clear parallels that could be drawn from the dystopian future in the novel and the current society in which we live. I had audibly gasped or said, "wow", numerous times while reading. And that's not something that happens very often for me.
I think my overall enjoyment while reading this book stemmed more from the plot and the world that had been created, as opposed to the writing itself. There is definitely a difference in how literature was written in Orwell's time versus contemporary literature. And that's not something I have an issue with. It was more so that the writing is rather matter of fact. If the plot wasn't as engrossing for me, I'm not sure that my rating would be nearly as high.
Another thing I want to point out is some problematic aspects to Orwell's writings. The main female character in this book leaves a lot to be desired. She's barely even a character at all (i.e., Manic Pixie Dream Girl). There are other works of his where there have been racist depictions of people from various ethnic backgrounds.
Despite my overall enjoyment of this book, and really the ending was just...wow, I fully believe that a reader needs to be aware of these problematic depictions. Glossing over them can lead to internalized biases that we never intended to absorb. Staying aware and being critical of such aspects in any work helps to ensure that we continue to do better in the future. So, I definitely encourage reading the book, but be sure to have your critical reading cap on!
_____
I truly cannot believe it took me as long as it did to finally read this book. I was a huge fan of Animal Farm in high school and enjoyed the allegoric nature of the book. 1984 is also in that vein.
I think what shocked me the most while reading was the fact that the book was written in the 1940s and that there were clear parallels that could be drawn from the dystopian future in the novel and the current society in which we live. I had audibly gasped or said, "wow", numerous times while reading. And that's not something that happens very often for me.
I think my overall enjoyment while reading this book stemmed more from the plot and the world that had been created, as opposed to the writing itself. There is definitely a difference in how literature was written in Orwell's time versus contemporary literature. And that's not something I have an issue with. It was more so that the writing is rather matter of fact. If the plot wasn't as engrossing for me, I'm not sure that my rating would be nearly as high.
Another thing I want to point out is some problematic aspects to Orwell's writings. The main female character in this book leaves a lot to be desired. She's barely even a character at all (i.e., Manic Pixie Dream Girl). There are other works of his where there have been racist depictions of people from various ethnic backgrounds.
Despite my overall enjoyment of this book, and really the ending was just...wow, I fully believe that a reader needs to be aware of these problematic depictions. Glossing over them can lead to internalized biases that we never intended to absorb. Staying aware and being critical of such aspects in any work helps to ensure that we continue to do better in the future. So, I definitely encourage reading the book, but be sure to have your critical reading cap on!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Torture, Sexual content, and Violence
skyarchive's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Torture
Moderate: Xenophobia