Author : George Orwell
Publisher : Signet Classics
Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while the year 1984 has come and gone, Orwell's narrative is timelier than ever. 1984 presents a startling and haunting vision of the world, so powerful that it is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of multiple generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions. A legacy that seems only to grow with the passage of time.
To be honest, I always feel intimidated when reviewing classic books. But I’ll try to review this book anyway since I love this book. I really do.
1984 is complex. The government structure and the life within it are complex. Awesome world-building. In some ways this book reminds me of my high school history class. I remember my history teacher always says there are three things that determined the success of government. I only remember two of them which are economy and student (oops!). Ingsoc is able to control these two things even though they are so corrupt and immoral. Their trick is to prepare from as earliest as possible. That and media control. They prepare children to be a spy and to be loyal to Big Brother. They make people see that Big Brother is a savior. The children even trained to report a possible thoughtcrime even if the suspicious one is their father or mother.
The invention of print, however, made it easier to manipulate public opinion, and the film and the radio carried the process further
1984 also reminds me of Code Geass (a Japanese anime with an incredibly handsome male lead). The Ingsoc technique of using big brother as a center point of attraction (that is love or worship or hate) reminds me of how Lelouch used himself as a center point of hate to make the society goes according to what he wants.
Winston, the main character, lives in such a creepy society. Everyone (the government, to be precise) is watching you. Privacy is a luxury. You’re not even allowed to love. All of your energy is spent to serve the country and Big Brother. The society has weird slogans but it has so much meaning. It’s all explained in the rebellion book.
The language that they invented, Newspeak, is also interesting. What draw my attention are the word ‘doublethink’ and the irony of how they choose the ministries’ name.
The ministry of peace concerns itself with war, the ministry of truth with lies, the ministry of love with torture, and the ministry of plenty with starvation.
Even though I love most part of 1984, I don’t give this book five out of five because I was a bit bored. I was bored by the explanation of the whole Ingsoc principles, especially in the rebellion book part.
There’s also romance in this book, with some twisted plot of course. I don’t speak a lot about the characters because I’m amazed by Orwell’s world building. All in all, best dystopian I’ve read. Well, I haven’t read much dystopian anyway. Still, I think 1984 is a book that you have to read at least once, before you die.
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