One of the few fun features of lockdown has been getting a look inside people's homes during video calls. After a short while, it became obvious that people were curating the rooms they broadcast from. "I'm a family man!" cried the wall of kids photos and crayon drawings. "I've got incredible taste!" boasted a minimalist display of just one, large, abstract artwork. "I'm an intellectual!" crowed bookcases of leather-bound classics. The only problem is that bookshelves cannot be trusted. As many well publicised surveys have proven over the past decade, not only are shelves littered with unread volumes, but people happily lie about reading some of the world's most prestigious works. George Orwell's infamous novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is often listed among them - ironic for a book themed around truth.
This is the second time I've read 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' ('1984' in America'). Although I'd forgotten most of the details, I still broadly remembered the plot, so was surprised by my emotional response. Because I thought I knew what happened, I had a false sense of security and didn't think it could surprise or shock me. My blood ran cold, however, when the conspiracy was revealed, and the physical and mental 'reprogramming' in the bowels of the Ministry of Love remains horrific and chilling 70 years after it was first written.
In that time, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' has infiltrated the popular conscious and common language, making it familiar even to those who have never read it. Its often hashtag-like neologisms - 'Big Brother', 'Room 101', 'Newspeak', 'doublethink', 'thoughtcrime' - and satirical slogans - "WAR IS PEACE", "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY", "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" - are instantly recognisable and make you think you know what the book is about. This is only partly true, as what stands out depends upon the social and political context in which you read it. For example, fifty years ago, the Cold War may have made you focus on the totalitarian themes. Today, in the age of Alexa and CCTV, it may be the telescreens and the lack of physical or mental privacy. This makes 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' thought-provoking and timely no matter when or where you read it.
The writing is vivid without being florid, bringing alive the sights, smells and textures of a decaying post-war London in an accessible way. From the make-do squalor of Victory Mansions, to the prim divisions of the Ministry of Truth, the nooks and crannies of the prole districts, to the stark white corridors of the Ministry of Love, these places feel real as they are versions of the towns, offices and institutions we all know. Perversely, this literally makes the book an easy read for the most part.
The least readable sections were the chapters from Goldstein's book and the appendix on 'The Principles of Newspeak'. Like many early readers, I struggled with them because they have a more convoluted and academic tone, but they are essential parts of the story's puzzle and have to be ploughed through. Whether we can take them at face value or not, they offer a possible glimpse of the past and a future beyond Oceania, like the appendices to Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Testaments'.
Overall, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is a readable and powerful book, with settings we can all relate to and themes that are worryingly relevant whenever it is read. It's far more accessible than many of the tomes that appear regularly on 'must read' lists, so, to be honest, it seems harder work to pretend you've read it than to actually read it. You're bound to have something interesting to say about it by the end too.
Now, what next...?
This post is based on the Penguin Modern Classics paperback edition of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' by George Orwell, published in 2000. 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' was first published in 1949 by Martin Secker and Warburgh Ltd.
In that time, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' has infiltrated the popular conscious and common language, making it familiar even to those who have never read it. Its often hashtag-like neologisms - 'Big Brother', 'Room 101', 'Newspeak', 'doublethink', 'thoughtcrime' - and satirical slogans - "WAR IS PEACE", "FREEDOM IS SLAVERY", "IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH" - are instantly recognisable and make you think you know what the book is about. This is only partly true, as what stands out depends upon the social and political context in which you read it. For example, fifty years ago, the Cold War may have made you focus on the totalitarian themes. Today, in the age of Alexa and CCTV, it may be the telescreens and the lack of physical or mental privacy. This makes 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' thought-provoking and timely no matter when or where you read it.
The writing is vivid without being florid, bringing alive the sights, smells and textures of a decaying post-war London in an accessible way. From the make-do squalor of Victory Mansions, to the prim divisions of the Ministry of Truth, the nooks and crannies of the prole districts, to the stark white corridors of the Ministry of Love, these places feel real as they are versions of the towns, offices and institutions we all know. Perversely, this literally makes the book an easy read for the most part.
The least readable sections were the chapters from Goldstein's book and the appendix on 'The Principles of Newspeak'. Like many early readers, I struggled with them because they have a more convoluted and academic tone, but they are essential parts of the story's puzzle and have to be ploughed through. Whether we can take them at face value or not, they offer a possible glimpse of the past and a future beyond Oceania, like the appendices to Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' and 'The Testaments'.
Overall, 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' is a readable and powerful book, with settings we can all relate to and themes that are worryingly relevant whenever it is read. It's far more accessible than many of the tomes that appear regularly on 'must read' lists, so, to be honest, it seems harder work to pretend you've read it than to actually read it. You're bound to have something interesting to say about it by the end too.
Now, what next...?
This post is based on the Penguin Modern Classics paperback edition of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' by George Orwell, published in 2000. 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' was first published in 1949 by Martin Secker and Warburgh Ltd.
