Book Club: Nineteen Eighty-Four

It's been a while since I've published a book review, but since finishing my last book I felt compelled to put pen to paper (or, y'know, fingers to keyboard). That book is George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, which I can't believe I hadn't read til recently. It's a real classic and rightly so. It gripped me and took me on a bit of an emotional ride, so I wanted to review and analyse it here.

I won't discuss the full details, but this blog post contains some spoilers.

Penned in 1948, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a dystopian tale of a state under totalitarian control of 'the Party'. After WWII, the world has been divided into three states - Eurasia, Eastasia and Oceana - the latter being where the novel is set.  'Big Brother' is the embodiment of the Party and, as we well know, Big Brother is always watching (and listening, too). Every conceivable aspect of life is controlled by the state; from eating and sleeping, to working and talking. Stamping out love, friendships, laughter, and even basic truths; 2 + 2 = 5. They even have their own language, Newspeak, highlighting the Party's need for control over expression. But can they really control people's thoughts...?

Told in a third person narrative, we follow Winston Smith - an Outer Party member who works for the Ministry of Truth.   Winston does his duty and lives a mundane, forlorn existence.  However, he secretly loathes the Party and longs to know if anyone else thinks as he does. He has his suspicions, but with Thought Police rife and all communications monitored closely, it's too risky to discuss.  So he keeps these thoughts to himself, but finds some therapy in putting pen to paper in a secret diary; a huge risk, but surely a worthwhile one, isn't it...?

The tale of Winston and Julia made me happier than any fictional coupling ever has.  I think this was because of everything they - and their relationship - embodied, especially in such a dreary backdrop. The quiet, seemingly insignificant little moments that make life special. Finding meaningful connections in the worst of times. And just as their coupling made me happier than any other I've read about, it broke my heart the most, too. We knew it couldn't last, and there wouldn't be a happy ending for the pair. I was in complete despair at the closing chapter, but at the same time, it was what I expected; I hadn't been holding any high hopes of a different outcome.

The only part of the book I wasn't particularly hooked on was the large excerpts of Goldstein's texts in the middle. Perhaps if I was more politically-minded it may have been more interesting to me. I understand it has its relevance, but I feel it went on for a little too long and I found myself itching to get back to the story at hand.

Have you read Nineteen Eighty-Four? What were your thoughts on it? x