Has anyone seen the movie? Is it good? Worth checking out?
Plus, never forget one of the greatest hommages to the book:
Hi everyone, I’ve listened to the podcast for more than a year (since the Rolling Stone article). But really haven’t participated on the forum until now. I just bought a copy of 1984 and look forward to group reading it with you guys.
Welcome evenspeed!
Anyone get the version of the book with the forward by Thomas Pynchon? (The centennial edition) What did you think of that forward, a little preachy? Maybe I’ll have a different opinion at the end of the book.
I read this book a few years ago but I thik I was too young for it (around 13) although still thought it was amazing. Hearing about it on the podcast makes me want to read it again. I do have the Pynchon intro version but I skipped it before so I’ll have to see about it in my re-read.
Parts I remember particularly liking include
SPOILERS!!!
The whole fact that Smith thinks it’s 1984, so it could still be set in the future when reading today. Very clever IMO.
It was my first intro to the idea that governments could be controlling what the public thought. Strong, pondering stuff for my younger self.
The thought police…scary stuff
The Ending, although ti bummed me out totally it still thought it was great.
It’s probably one of the most important novels of the latter half of the 20th century and it only continues to increase in relevance.
The most interesting thing about the novel is that it presents an extremely complex satire on overt tyranny while still being an enthralling read; it’s one thing to write a philosophical treatise, quite another to write a badass, page-turning novel. It’s truly a stunning feat.
I’d also like to turn some attention to the novel’s style; I think Orwell gets billed as being a somewhat purple-prose writer, but 1984 is a lean, almost Hemingway-esque, read. There is little superfluous language.
1984 will endure, as it has already, for a long time. So long as men desire power, the novel will continue to be relevant.
Truer words, as they say…
OK here’s a random question, which has more staying power, or meant more to you when you read it, or do you think has more influence on the culture you live in: 1984 or Animal Farm?
1984 meant more to me than Animal Farm, though I’m not sure which has more staying power. 1984 will probably be much more prominent, only because it’s so much more broad and complex than Animal Farm. I have the funny feeling, though, that Animal Farm will stick around as a good introduction to Orwell and of course 1984.
They're both quite powerful, and address fairly fundamental things; but I think Animal Farm is a bit more narrow than 1984. Not in a bad way, but it was just more contemporary. 1984 has an agelessness that's easy to see.