Nineteen Eighty-Four

Estimated time to read: 2 minutes

Author : George Orwell

This book was a roller coaster of emotions, culminating in the equivalent of a huge tidal wave crashing against a boulder, scattering into indiscernible droplets of water. The story describes a dystopian world (or is it?) where every action of every individual in the land of Oceania is monitored by an all-seeing, all-knowing body called “Big Brother”. The system is one devoid of free thought and speech, the very first scene opening with scenes of hatred towards the only attempt at a revolting entity (Goldstein). Amid all this, there are still those who understand that this is not how the natural order of things should be, that they should not be rewriting history to match the present or the past predictions of Big Brother, that people should not be “vaporised” for committing thought crimes and the story follows one such individual — Winston. His journey from cautious citizen to a reckless revolutionary is a breath of fresh air in the suffocating environment of Oceania, as he finds a cohort in the plucky, young Julia. Together they dream and scheme and believe they aren’t alone, and find this to be true when they meet O’Brien. 

And just when you think the uprising just might be successful, that there just might be a chance that the underdogs shall prevail….. George Orwell picks up your heart, puts it in a box, drives a nail through it and smashes the box with a hammer, burns what’s left of it and scatters the ashes in a meadow where a cool breeze blows them away…

Subjective Rating: 5.0/5.0.