Rob
05-24-2005, 06:07 PM
I think its too easy to dismiss a book like 1984 out of hand. The writing of the book is quite complex and displays an ability to paint a vivid image without going into a dickensian level of overbearing description. <br><br>Critisism of the technicallity of the writing is not my purpose or even my place, however.<br><br>' "Oh, this is a GREAT novel," "how prophetic," "THEY didn't want you to read it," etc., ad nauseum...<br><br>1984 IS a great book. It IS prophetic.<br><br>But it's a car alarm.<br><br> Considering the current social climate, one can't help but make that comparison. '<br><br>I find this difficult to read. The sheer magnitude of this books release hasn't been taken into account at all. Having consulted people who were alive at its release they tell me one thing: the books release was like dropping a bomb on Russia, or the entirety of the western world for that matter. The 'social context' of this work is a large factor in its writing, though its theme is universal. <br><br>This book seems to me to be Orwell screaming to the world to take heed (of itself) and pay attention, a final warning perhaps before he died. <br><br>This book is troublingm and worried me as I read it. The book was life-changing and saddening but if given the chance to erase any memory of it I would say no without even thinking about it.<br><br>This man was dying when he wrote this book, his doom was inevitable and as I recall Orwell was an atheist. His wife had died and his condition was worsened (perhaps intentionally) by his location in the Hebredes. Think about that as you turn the pages, the final warning by a political AND literary genius. <br><br> <br><br><br>