1984 (June 1949)
October 20, 2008
I finally read it. It took me far too long, but I finally found time to sit down and read 1984. What is there to say about this book? It set the bar for every totalitarian-themed novel, T.V. show, movie and video game that was to come. You know what else? After reading the book itself, I can actually say that 1984 does it better than any movie ever could.
1984 paints a future (well alright, past technically) where there is no law, and yet everyone fears to break it. A land so poor, yet constantly boasting it’s over-manufacturing. A world so controlled, that the past literally changes to suit the need of the ruling class. It depicts such a cultural and societal wasteland that nothing else really quite compares.
1984 is terrifying.
Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was alright, everything was alright, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself.
Unlike reality, where I hadn’t been born yet, Hulkmania was just beginning, and Pierre Trudeau decides to resign from his position as the head of the Liberal party of Canada, 1984 describes a world where the government is comparable to God (though God is a concept removed). Eric Aurthur Blair – also known as George Orwell – does an almost flawless description of a world under totalitarian rule. Society is totally monitored and controlled through fear, children are brainwashed into being snitches on their own parents, sexual intercourse has been suppressed and demonized, and the country is in an eternally-shifting war between two other nations.
Within this bleak landscape, those with rebellious thoughts walk amongst the privileged, and even find love in the most unlikely of places. Big Brother frowns upon these thoughts and actions and actively works to eliminate all possible threads of rebellion from the populace. The story revolves around Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party, who still remembers the past. Ironically his job revolves around the elimination, alteration, and utter fabrication of that very concept. Against all odds, Winston finds love in Julia, a model citizen by observation. They hide their affair from all, taking great pains to ensure that their secret remains theirs alone.
But in a world of utter observation and control, can anything really be secret?
First off, I have to give props to Shepard Fairey for designing the cover to my edition of 1984 (as of June of 2008, talk about fresh). It’s a fantastic retro-throwback that uses minimal colours – black, red, and gold – retro font, and a real scrapbook feel that just makes the book that much creepier. I am utterly in love with the design. If I find Animal Farm with the Shepard Fairey design, I’ll have to pick it up too, if only for the cover art. It feels old, even though my copy is brand new.
Second, 1984 blew my mind to little itty-bitty pieces, stomped on them, and then left them out in the elements to rot away. This book is utterly and impressively depressing. It does probably the greatest job of building you up, and then ripping you down and leaving you there, clutching at the tatters of your soul saying “what the hell just happened?” Joss Whedon has absolutely nothing on this story.
What’s truly unnerving about the entire thing is that even though it’s almost 50 years now, and wrote about a future 25 years in the future, 1984 still manages to stay current. Technology is referenced and doesn’t feel dated because the evolution of society stagnated and so technology did not evolve unless expressly focused on by The Party. It’s a future that is bleak and terrifying, and yet still manages to feel that that future is always on the fringe, like humanity is only one wrong decision from going that way. Hidden microphones, Telescreens that constantly broadcast to and monitor the populace, and the dreaded Thought Police, who spirit you away in the night and erase you from history, or return you later on a broken person.
My biggest issue with 1984 is that it is amazingly self-indulgent. If Guitarists can be described as “masturbating with their guitars” on stage, then 1984 was George Orwell’s self-sin masterpiece. There are 30 page stretches of this book without any sort of dialogue, where the Narrator (Winston) basically talks about how he feels and what he thinks has happened to the world. Even the portions of Golstein’s book are incredibly dense. The end result is that there are long stretches of the book that are exceptionally hard to read, and if you don’t focus you can easily find yourself losing your spot very quickly.
The whole book is an obvious stab at the idea of totalitarian regimes. The book ends on a horrifying end, and that only re-enforces the ideal Orwell was trying to impress. There is even a good portion of the book dedicated to the explanation of how to create and maintain just such a society. That shouldn’t be possible, and yet he does it with eloquence and well-explained thoughts.
Everyone should read this book, if only to understand What Eric Blair was trying to get across. It’s poignant, it’s moving, and it’s horrific. Like watching the end of the world in slow-motion.
8.5/10
Categories: Book Reviews
Tagged under: 1984, 8.5, Big Brother, Book Reviews, George Orwell, Thought Police