[GypsyGoth]

Or do you intend to?

[Smithy]

I got it and meant to read it summer last year, never got round to it

[GypsyGoth]

Originally Posted by Smithy

I got it and meant to read it summer last year, never got round to it

I think I planned to read it over xmas, but I never got around to buying it.

[Shaun]

Yep. Twice. But I can't find it now...

[Smithy]

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

I think I planned to read it over xmas, but I never got around to buying it.

Well, I got further than someone then

[GypsyGoth]

Originally Posted by Shaun

Yep. Twice. But I can't find it now...

Is it worth reading?

Someone on a show today said it was one of the most important books written.

Originally Posted by Smithy

Well, I got further than someone then

[BB_Eye]

Yeah, it's extremely bleak. The last third of it is like an interrogation in Hell. You'll also never associate the phrase 'Room 101' with Paul Merton again either or Maxwell in BB6 playing with maggots again either.

North Korea is like the tl;dr version if you ever see it on the news.

[MTVN]

Always wanted to but never have for some reason I loved Orwell's animal farm, that's one of my favourite books so I dont know why I havent read this yet

[Shaun]

I've somewhat accidentally started reading a lot of cult dystopian novels lately - Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 - if you've read either of those two, 1984 is a lot heavier. Torture and authoritarianism are a lot more prominent - whilst BNW is a little more concerned with manufactured life, 451 more concerned with censorship.

But yeah - big impact on culture. Big Brother, Room 101, "is watching you"... V For Vendetta is pretty much sustained off its synopsis.

[Niall]

I read 1984 and Animal Farm. Excellent books.

[Pyramid*]

Originally Posted by Niall

I read 1984 and Animal Farm. Excellent books.

Same here. Casting my mind back too many years..... I am sure that Animal Farm was one in which was the subject for a project that had a substantial 'weighting' on it on the exam results....... I was studing on an American Curriculum at that point - and it had a substantial impact on my Graduation Diploma studies.

1984 has indeed come true...................... Government Big Brother does indeed watch over us. It's only a matter of time before we see the full effect as depicted in 1984. Might not be in our lifetime but I see it happening. If we don't blow the planet and ourselve up before.

[BB_Eye]

If you're interested in future dystopias, have you tried Zamyatin's We? Allegedly the inspiration for 1984, but a lot less political. Still largely inspired by his own life in Russia though... and the short time he spent as an expat in the North East of England (why am I not surprised? lol).

[Princess]

I read about half of it once but got a bit terrified and gave up.

[Tom4784]

No, It's on my to read list. We never did many of the classics in school so I plan to read them now to see what all the fuss is about.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by BB_Eye

If you're interested in future dystopias, have you tried Zamyatin's We? Allegedly the inspiration for 1984, but a lot less political. Still largely inspired by his own life in Russia though... and the short time he spent as an expat in the North East of England (why am I not surprised? lol).

shall have a look for that!

[MTVN]

Got this yesterday, just about to start reading it now

[GypsyGoth]

Cool, I think I'll recommend it to the book group here, then I'll have to read it

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by GypsyGoth

Cool, I think I'll recommend it to the book group here, then I'll have to read it

Yeah that's a good idea, that'll be one I can actually join in on

[Livia]

It's one of those books I was forced to read at school, so it was a chore at the time and I didn't really get it. When I later read it as a choice, I loved it and I've read it a couple of times now. I like Orwell's writing, particularly Coming Up for Air and Keep the Apidistra Flying.

[Stu]

I read it just the once. It has the dual quality of being very easy to read but being razor pain harsh in it's content. You can't even really get behind Winston Smith because he's not cool, he's not a hero and he's not that nice. A certain amount of sympathy maybe but that's about it.

But yeah ... amazing book. The amount of things it created that are now cliches is astounding.

Someone needs to start marketing Victory Gin.

[Pyramid*]

Read it many many years ago when I was a young teen still at school. Surprised my memory goes back that far but recall thinking it was a bit OTT and heavy duty at the time!

funny how insightful it was given when it was written.