A book review: an oldie but a goodie

1984

George Orwell

When this is published I will hear many exasperated sighs from much of the student populace, but I know what your going to say: “This guy read (or maybe didn’t even bother to read) 1984 and now we’re in for a self righteous rant about why anyone who hasn’t read it should not be allowed have an opinion or a vote”. Well your half right, and shut up. 1984 is fantastic, probably the piece of literature which has made me consider its themes most, and a gripping read at that. But 1984 should not be the access card to modern conversational snobbery. It is viewed in what I feel is an unfair pedestal, and I think many miss its point entirely.

1984 is set around the life of Winston Smith, who lives in an authoritarian society which monitors the actions, conversations (and even thoughts) of its residents. Winston, as one would expect, hated the system he was in but kept his distain under the surface, believing that only his thoughts were private. He does, however, rebel in his own way, by having an affair with another party member, Julia. Their hatred of the Party and the system combined to increase their confidence, as they believed they were living on borrowed time, certain they would be caught by Thought Police agents. This gave rise to a phrase to a phrase they often ‘dutifully’ uttered to each other , “We are the dead.”

There is a “Dan Brown” twist in the novel, however it is somewhat surprising. I feel this negates the similarities between Orwell, an insightful innovative and talented writer, and Brown, the author of Digital Fortress. For those of you unfamiliar with the title, count yourself lucky. By the time this particular twist occurred I must say I was quite immersed in the story and the suspense suddenly jumped. True story- when I was reading at this moment of tension in the kitchen my toast popped up and I barely resisted the urge to take evasive action, my instincts telling me to roll over the table and hide in the corner. So yes, this novel does contain an element of the thriller, even if it is only for one paragraph (or even one line).

The thing that will attract people to 1984 is not the excellent storyline or the suspense, it is Orwell’s commentary on the human mind and politics. Some argue that his predictions of what 1984 would be like were too inaccurate but I feel that is irrelevant, and if one imagines the time of publication (1949) it is surprising how close he did actually get (CCTV cameras being a prime example). While the totalitarian world he envisioned never came to be it is understandable why he would have believed it would, that was the way global politics seemed to be going in the 40’s.

What I love about 1984, however, is the same thing I love about The Fall by Albert Camus. It’s the way recurring themes from earlier in the plot which you may have even forgotten are brought together and make sense in a brilliant Archimedean realisation and adds a touch of superiority to the novel. In Winston Smith’s case, this realisation is something nobody expects, and the last few pages we realise that the impressions were have formed are wrong, and all is as it seems. We realise the truth behind doublethink, that yes, you can think two opposite things at the same time, that 2+ 2 cannot equal 5 and that 2+ 2 can equal 5. We learn that in his world, not even thoughts are private. And the realisation in the last three sentences is the biggest surprise of all.

So as you can see 1984 is a book which I rate very highly and would recommend. But there is a caveat with that. You see in college an interesting trend occurs concerning this book. Many people read it because they hear so many good things about it. But there are those who read it because they want people to think “What an intelligent person, he is considering the mechanics of the tri-party system and how this sustains the system” when they them reading it. And so many people are sceptical when someone makes a comparison between newspeak and texting language, believing them to be playing the “1984 pretentiousness card”. So my advice is this, read 1984, because if you haven’t you are missing out on a treat. But don’t reference Room 101 when you talk about CIT, don’t keep the book with you at all times. Just read it, and never mention it to anyone. Toss it down a memory hole, as it were.