Customer Reviews

1984

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved the story. The only problem I found with the audio CD version was that the reader's voice was very high pitched and I had to turn the trebble completely off to keep it from hurting my ears.

I greatly enjoyed this audio book, partly because the narrator's vocal gifts brought alive the various characters and thier accents. I also enjoyed revisitng a book that I had read long ago, in the earlry years of my life. I now was able to see more clearly the fears inspired by the Communist party in post-war Eastern Europe and China, and how those events inspired Orwell's writing of this book and the reactions of his audience.

Richard Brown's voice is perfect for 1984 - a novel about a distopia. I listened to this while driving to work in my car. This is a very deep, thoughtful novel to begin with. It is made so real by a good actor. I highly recommend this.

I enjoyed hearing this on a recent driving trip. The story is dark and depressing, but thought provoking, especially considering current governmental politics.

The production quallity is good. It consists of one author reading without sound effects, and while men on audio books always sound rediculous reading in a faux woman's voice, that part is status quo.

I bought this new, lent it to some freinds, then sold it on ebay. All in all a great book that I'm glad I read and a good deal in the end.

WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. These
are the three slogans that Winston Smith hears every day. When I first read this book 35 years ago, the threat of such a freedomless world seemed impossible to me. After all...we are not Russia. Today, the words of the book are dangerously true. WAR IS PEACE. Have we not started a preemptive war against another country for the ostensible purpose of peace? IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. Don't some of our public schools and libraries censor books or resist the teaching of contemporary biology? What about the THOUGHT POLICE. Today in America, an individual can be convicted by introducting into evidence information that he or she reviewed from his computer in the privacy of his home. The books we read, the videos we rent, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive are all easily accessible by lw enforcement agencies. New technology allows scientists to scan our brains to determine if we are telling the truth. Yes...BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING US. Listen to this CD, read Orwell, and start a movement that prevents any further inroads into our thoughts and privacy.

1984 is extremely influential on the way we as a society label each other and our government with names such as "Big Brother" Orwellian and such. These names like calling someone a Nazi allow us to appear to argue but actually allow us to dodge the real issues. This is fairly ironic considering the origin of such terms. Basically 1984 is set in London in the distopian future. Orwell wrote it in response to Stalin's corrupting the ideals of Socialism. He was a socialist and so was really bothered by that failure.

The plot to 1984 isn't so important as the setting. Basically the story follows Winston Smith. Smith harbors less than perfect views of his environment, for which he will one day be arrested regardless of his actions. Not loving the government (thought crime) is the only crime that is recognized. Hidden cameras and microphones are omnipresent in the city, included mandatory TVs which can't be turned off, only show a single government station and contain hidden cameras through which "thought police" may monitor what is in front of the TV at any time. Social interaction doesn't exist, since that would be considered weird and therefore criminal.

There are three classes of people in London: Inner Party members, Party members like Winston and the proletariate, who aren't watched so closely because they aren't considered human. In this world Winston goes from merely not liking the government to engaging in unusual behavior. He starts by buying decorative antiques at a proletariate shop and progresses to having a girl friend, who he can only meet with in remote country side settings on account of social interaction is not allowed by the government. It is obvious to him that he will one day be taken to the Ministry of Love, a windowless building which handles law enforcement, and never fails at getting thought criminals to love the government.

The novel is always dark. No happy beginning, no happy middle and no happy ending. Still it is important to read it before throwing around terms like "Orwellian" It has been so influential on society that it is required reading - if you want to pass your tenth grade English. Failing to read is a sign of insurgence against the government.

It is a good book, i dont know if i totaly understand the point. It does make you hate people not involved with history and the world around them, if you arent you will believe anything.