1984

Kali

this is easily one of the best books i have ever read, George Orwell rules.
go read it now
heard there was a film made about it but i'd have to post to the film board about that

"Big Brother is watching you."

Kali the totalatarian dictator.

Draco

Read the book, seen the film, appreciate all the stuff that came from it, but quite frankly, I wasn't too impressed. It's good, but not as good as I had been told. Still worth a read though.

Send him to Room 101.

Draco.

Kali

noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
not room 101 arghghhh

Brit

The film of 1984 was made in 1984 I think - itds pretty old. Stars John Hurt as our favourite 'Brother' and it captures the depression and totalitarinism that pervades Orwellian society excellently.

It also features a woman who likes to take all her kit off - and who doesn't believe in the benefits of shaving...

If you like this book (1984) I heartily recommend: Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm.

--Brit--

TrevorOcon

Is this a common occurance - that when one goes from posting a new thread to Replyihg they are unlogged and lose their post and have to re-log in again? Trevor lance@graffiti.net

Mutz

Originally posted by Brit

It also features a woman who likes to take all her kit off -

- Never a bad thing, Hairy or Not

Raskolnikov

T'was phairly good loike.

GreenHell

Its a book that makes ya think, good read.

pauldeehan

Good book, though in some places I felt like I was rereading Animal Farm (except without the animals...or the farm). Was a very interesting read though and it's portrayal of the future is extremely engaging (for me at least).

funktastic

Yeah it's an excellent book.For the time it was written,think 1949,predicts a lot of society today albeit today is nowhere as severe as in the book,but it's a real eye opener.Security cameras everywhere that can read your mind,thought crime.Draws a lot on 20th century history,with the character of Goldstein being seen as an enemy of the regime in a Trotsky light.

Haven't seen the film, it'd be hard to be as good as the book.

azezil

it bored me!

Its just like animal farm but more drawn out, read half it then read the last page, i was content with that.

Cabaal

Have to say I really liked the book,
Yeah there's similarity's between it and Animal Farm, but its still a dam good book.

darthmise

If you liked 1984 that much Kali, i'd recommend "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.

....if only to compare the two visions of the future.

Stark

Yeah I thought it was a really good book, there was one point where I actually jumped with fright reading it :eek:.
Just curious though, i know Orwell meant the book as a serious warning of what may come, but I'm wondering if the actual protagonist in the book was insane. One reason for this is that the other characters in the book seem to know all his thoughts, and all his interactions with other characters involve them telling him stuff he already knows deep down. He also put complete trust in someone based on a minor facial tick. In the end when he gets taken to Room 101, his greatest fear is immediately known. It's a long time since I read the book, but there are other pieces in the book to suggest that the character may be living in an imagined reality.

Terminator

Its one of the most observant, genuinely well-written books I've ever read. When you read it out loud it just flows of the tongue. Flawless.

davej

Brave new world is very good indeed.

For others novels of a broadly similar vein I'd recommend "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood and "The Man in the High Castle" by Philip K. Dick.

As for the Leaving / Junior Cert novels other people mentioned, I think my favourite was The Great Gatsby. Worst school book of all time was Silas Marner by George Eliot.

davej

Stark

When you read it out loud it just flows of the tongue.

mmm, George Orwell was a big fan of direct, simplistic writing, why use a 3-syllable word when a 2-syllable word will do. Really shows up in Animal Farm and 1984. Makes the whole idea of newspeak sound really ironic in 1984 sound really ironic actually.

kirn

both books are great, BNW is a classic but i was a little let downat the end, it sorta fitted but i was hoping for more of a resloution... but 1984 is class. such a visual read, and so well though out, with the principles of newspeak and the book by goldstein and all the little details that made it fantastic....

Typedef

1984, totally changed my life.

It not only ingrained the paranoia I harbour, but added some new levels of the same, even I wasn't aware I was capable of.

Terminator

It saved us all and scuppered any hopes modern governments had of dominating the media with their own agendas.

ykt0di9url7bc3

Originally posted by Terminator
It saved us all and scuppered any hopes modern governments had of dominating the media with their own agendas.

but the corporations took over the media....for thier own agendas?....we could be worse off


Good book, nearly sorry I had read animal farm before hand, I may have enjoyed it more if I didnt have an idea of big brother or Orwells political views before reading

Does anybody think that his books are dangerous if in the wrong hands? - The whole controlling of the masses and the mob, changing history to shape your future

Talliesin

There were two cinema films made of 1984, the 1984 one with John Hurt that was mentioned before (incidentally it was filmed over exactly the same period in 1984 that the novel takes place over), and a really crap one in 1956 (changed ending, poor casting).

There was also a TV movie made in 1954 with Peter Cushing, which perhaps the first ever feature-length production ever done on TV (and most of it was broadcast live). It is truly excellent if of poor visual quality (given the techical state of televisual broadcasting at the time). It's very hard to manage to see it, but if you ever get the chance it's well worth it. Occassionally it is broadcast on a "milestone" anniversary of the BBC because of its historical importance to television.

Talliesin

Oh, as for dystopian fiction as a whole, comparisons between 1984 and Brave New World only go so far (they had very different points to make, and very different narrative styles). However it's perhaps interesting to note that Orwell said that he though Brave New World was probably going to be closer to how society would actually turn out.

Tusky

didnt finish it..was good but a bit dated

Mewzel

i thought it was a great read, and though in some ways similar to animal farm i enjoyed it more (though that could be cause i had to study animal farm in school, always manages to ruin books ):(

article6

It was a good book.

You read half the book and the last page? You missed the Ministry, then... It was the most harrowing piece I ever read in a book. The utter destruction of a man in body and soul, and his reconstruction as a mindless slave, was disturbing.

I didn't mind Brave New World, it looks vaguely Utopian, until you think of the Deltas and Epsilons.

For a good Utopia, try Saint Thomas More's Utopia. The title's always a good clue as to its content.

Caesar_Bojangle

I'm exactly half way through it and tbh i'm just reading it for the sake of it, as its supposedly a classic. I can see how inspirational is has been, like how much it has been ripped off by countless of authors throughout the years. Most likely its probably just me quibbling over insignificant details, after reading possibly one the greatest books of all time Catch 22.

nosmo

I loved it. It has real relevance to the continuing invasions of privacy by modern authorities and corporations

Caesar_Bojangle

i take back everything i said, i finished it last night and its bloody fantastic