1984 by George Orwell **spoiler warning**

Painting found on Pinterest. Artist unknown.

1984 was always one of those novels that I heard a lot about, but somehow never read. Its not that it did not interest me, I think it is more that I was just waiting for when the time felt right. Granted, when I did decide to read it, I did not have that moment of saying: "Oh, now is definitely the time to read this book". But I think that somewhere in my subconscious I knew it would be prudent. It is a novel many today are referencing,  and in the current political climate I try to be informed and knowledgeable. Thus, when our March Audible came around, I decided to listen to 1984.

Listening to this book gave it even more of a horrific air, I felt. Although I do wish to someday reread this book and actually hold the novel and take notes and so on. But I am glad that I decided to listen to it because the narrator did an amazing job. The inflections and tones were all perfect and I think George Orwell would have been proud. It gave me the chance to work through the book more quickly, as well. I happened to have a lot of driving to do in the past couple of weeks so I would just connect my phone and listen to the book.

This novel is profound. It is part philosophy, part political theory, and part essay on the human condition and what it can handle. There is so much packed into it that I know I missed things. The general basis of the story is that all of Britain, which is now Oceania, is ruled by INGSOC or English Socialism. INGSOC is headed by Big Brother, who has a religious and cult like reverence about him, and has four main ministries. The Ministry of Love, which ironically focuses on hate and keeping up with "the two-minutes hate" and "hate week", moments where everyone is required to watch films of the "enemy" Goldstein and scream at the tele-screens and just get into a general state of mania. The Ministry of Truth, which focuses on changing the past via rewriting news articles and stories. The main character of Winston Smith works at this ministry. The Ministry of Peace, which deals with war and the military. And the Ministry of Plenty, which deals with economics, or rather, creating scarcity. There are also three main parties: Inner Party, those who are at the top of the top economically and politically, the Outer Party which contains those who work in the ministries, and the Proles who are the bottom 85% of the population. This is just a brief summary of the main political themes within the story. There is also the detail that everyone is always watched via the tele-screens that litter the streets and are in every office and every home. There is the fear of being arrested by the "thought-police" for something as small as a wrong facial expression. There is a language called "new-speak" the main goal of which is to do away eventually with all language and thought. Overall, it is a terrifying climate.

Winston begins the novel beginning a diary. He knows that just by buying the journal he could be arrested and by further writing in it he is sure to die, but something in him propels him to write down his thoughts. His thoughts are even worse for he hates Big Brother and wants to have sex and wants to think. However, he is able to get away with his secret diary for quite some time. The novel mainly follows him in his day to day life and through his thoughts about any and every thing. Eventually he begins an affair with someone he works with, Julia, and they are even able to keep this a secret. But of course, they are caught. There are moments where I thought they would not be, that maybe they would get away and they would be able to change the world, but it was not to be. The entire third part of the novel deals with Winston being arrested and tortured and essentially brainwashed. By the end, he loves Big Brother and his whole thought process has changed, and then he is shot.

I loved the end of the book. Well, not because Winston died, but because Orwell did not give the book a cheap finale. He stuck to his guns about the philosophy and the power of Oceania and Big Brother and so it was more believable of an end. The finality of it was perfection. There is no escaping or changing Big Brother.

I have a thousand thoughts about the philosophy and politics in the book, but this is a book blog and not a political blog so I don't want to take this post there. Just know that 1984 will make you think but it will also terrify you. I did not love any of the main characters but I don't think that as the point anyway. I think the characters served as vessels for the philosophy to be written out. The point of the novel was not Winston Smith, it was INGSOC. And that is why it remains such a poignant and relevant novel sixty-eight years later.

In conclusion, 1984 is quite the novel. My husband and I joked that it should be required reading before people are allowed to vote. (Of course we don't mean this.) But the meaning behind the joke is that there is a lot to process from the novel. It talks so much about the consequences of not thinking for oneself and what that can do. Or even the consequences of putting total trust in the government. Even if you don't care about all of the politics, it is still interesting because it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The whole book is filled with the threat of Big Brother and the thought-police. So if you just want a good thriller of sorts, 1984 would fill that criteria. Whatever the reason for you deciding to read this book, do so soon. It is a novel that speaks a lot about current times and serves as a warning to us all.