I have FINALLY finished 1984! There are a number of reasons for my tardiness:
- it was by ‘bus book’ so stayed in my work bag and was only read on my journey’s home on the bus from the two days a week I go into the office
- I had COVID and did not go into the office for two weeks
- I had a week’s holiday in the Lake District
- Some of it was a bit tough to get through/concentrate on whilst on the bus
So, there was all that going on!
I was surprised by a number of things. Firstly how much of the book I had forgotten since I studied it for A’level, even though that is over 40 years ago). Secondly, how complex some of the themes are, and how I am sure that I couldn’t have appreciated them when I was studying this book when I was 17. Thirdly, how many of the themes/premonitions that Orwell had in 1949 have come to pass and are relevant in 2025.
It was also fascinating to read it having recently read ‘Julia’ which is a book from Julia’s perspective (see my previous review). I think having had an understanding of Julia’s experiences, albeit this did not come from Orwell’s brain, was useful, and it made me wonder what difference it would have made to studying ‘1984’ if ‘Julia’ had already been written.
To be honest, some of ‘1984 felt a bit tedious – the excerpts from Goldstein’s book were rather too long for me. I struggle with theoretical text and found it challenging to persevere through these parts, but would have felt very guilty if I’d skipped over them. Having said that I did find the appendix on ‘Newspeak’, the new language in 1984, interesting – so perhaps I am just a conundrum!
I had a feeling of apprehension, possibly even dread, whilst reading this. Remembering what happened to Winston in room 101 made me anxious to get to this point in the story. However, the dread of it was worse than the actuality and it wasn’t as distressing as I remembered it to be. It shows what powerful feelings books can evoke, though, as 40 years after reading this, the emotions were still there.
Having forgotten the descriptions of Winston’s time in the Ministry of Love, it was interesting to read this section and also gain more understanding regarding Winston’s relationship with O’Brien, which was a complex one. The fate of Winston following his release from the Ministry of Love was weirdly touching even though I was not sure I liked him much by the end of the book. All the hopes Winston had of being involved in changing society were dashed, but he didn’t even appreciate this as he was irreparably damaged by the torture he had experienced.
Overall, I’m pleased that I re-read it and managed to persevere during the challenging sections. However, I think it had more impact on me reading it now, due to everything that is happening in the world at the moment. There is more than a ring of truth in Orwell’s view of how the future would be.
If you’ve not read this book yet, then I would recommend giving it a try, keeping in mind that this was written not long after the end of the Second World War – almost 80 years ago. What insight and perspective Orwell had in his imagination – with so much accuracy in his predictions.
The Obsessive Bookworm 