Book Reviews

1984
by George Orwell
Published in 1949 (I finished it on June 11, 2006)

Big Brother -- I'd heard that term all my life, and knew what it meant, but yet I had never actually read the book. Most people I've spoken with say they read it in high school. I, on the other hand, did not. I don't know. My high school English program seemed adequate, but now I'm not so sure. Still, there are many great novels and only so many can be read. Anyway, be that as it may, I've now read it. There are many things to think about and many ways to analyze the work. I specifically remember, 'You do not exist' and its paradoxical meaning. Also powerful, was the idea of how Winstron wasn't learning anything that he didn't already know. It was just being systematized for him. And how true. Some books teach, others reinforce. Nevertheless, the 'year' has come and gone and wasn't as, well, predicted. The closest and biggest society to the book's allusion has even crumbled (though it wasn't until several years later).