Science Fiction : 1984

1984

EUR 4,74


Outside, even through the shut window pane, the world looked cold. Down in the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no color in anything except the posters that were plastered everywhere. The year is 1984, the scene is London, largest population center of Airstrip One. Airstrip One is part of the vast political entity Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two other vast entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment, depending upon current alignments, all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston Smith knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant correction of such records. Who controls the past, ran the Party slogan, controls the future: who controls the present controls the past. In a grim city and a terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the Party s official image of the world is a fluid fiction. He knows the Party controls the people by feeding them lies and narrowing their imaginations through a process of bewilderment and brutalization that alienates each individual from his fellows and deprives him of every liberating human pursuit from reasoned inquiry to sexual passion. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be. Newspeak, doublethink, thoughtcrime--in 1984, George Orwell created a whole vocabulary of words concerning totalitarian control that have since passed into our common vocabulary. More importantly, he has portrayed a chillingly credible dystopia. In our deeply anxious world, the seeds of unthinking conformity are everywhere in evidence, and Big Brother is always looking for his chance. --Daniel Hintzsche

Wird zu Recht oft erwähnt - Die Liste der Leute, die noch nie von dem Buch 1984 gehört haben dürfte recht kurz sein. Nein, damit will ich nicht sagen das von diesen Leuten eine Liste existiert, nur so eine Redewendung! :)Trotzdem wissen viele fast nur das es darin um einen Überwachungsstaat geht, genau hier kommt der Grund ins Spiel warum es sich dennoch lohnt das Buch zu lesen: Das Buch ist natürlich viel mehr als nur das und bietet einen echten Mehrwert über das bekannte/vielzitierte. Ich hatte schon sehr viel vorab über das Buch erfahren und erwartete deshalb kaum neues. Mir ging es nur darum eine weitere Lücke zu schließen. Das war ein ziemlicher Irrtum - das Buch ist durchweg gut geschrieben und sogar spannend. Selbst dann wenn man das Ende erahnt. Das Buch wurde 1946/47 geschrieben, klingt jedoch keineswegs alt (ich kenne nur die englische Fassung). Wer nichts über das Buch wüsste, würde wohl nicht vermuten das es schon 60 Jahre alt ist. Der fiktive Überwachungsstaat wird im Buch in vielen Facetten beschrieben, was das eigentliche Erlebnis ausmacht - so detailliert geht es eben nur in einem Buch. Wer sich ein bisschen dafür interessiert, sollte nicht (oder zumindest nicht nur) den Film sehen, in dem zudem einiges anders ist als im Buch. Wer nur den Film geschaut hat, verrät sich also vielleicht in einer Diskussion darüber. :PMan merkt das Orwell wirklich alles voll durchdacht hat UND die Fähigkeit besaß es dann auch so nieder zu schreiben. Ich bekam nie den Eindruck das man es hätte besser machen können. Mein Fazit: 1984 zeigt recht eindrucksvoll warum man Bücher lesen sollte statt sie bloß zu zitieren und durch die Häufigkeit der Erwähnungen zu glauben man würde es kennen/bereits genug darüber wissen. Es handelt sich hier um keinen lahmen Klassiker, der nur so bekannt ist, weil es ihn schon so lange gibt oder weil er eben zuerst da war. Jemand der die Thematik heute neu niederschreiben wollte, würde das kaum schaffen ohne Orwells Werk in wesentlichen Punkten schlicht zu wiederholen. Hierin, dies vor 60 Jahren trotzdem schon so entwickelt zu haben, liegt ein wesentlicher Teil der Faszination des Buches/der Geschichte.

1984, written sometime in the 50 s as far as i know. - Takes Soviet Style goverment and brings out its darkest future. (Big Brother) Orwell himself a socialist, offers intelligent and passionate reflections of his anxieties. Read this novel before grabbing a why the USSR broke book written by some self rightous Political Science phd. who unwittingly butchers Orwells big brother to fit his narrow understanding. Not that there aren t good books on Soviet and Russian History, which you may want to look for after reading 1984. I d also recommend reading--ANIMAL FARM--if you haven t yet!

1984 - As 1984 is known as one of the best distopian novels I had high expectations when reading it. After finishing the book I can say they were more than fulfilled. Orwell draws a very detailed picture of a totalitarian regime ruling its people through propaganda and punishment. The fascinating (and scary) thing is the fact that it is realistic. Unlike other distopias I read, 1984 creates the fear that these things could happen to us, too. Especially because of this it works as it should as a warning. Some people say that there is a too long and boring part in 1984 but for me the part with Goldsteins book was very interesting. In my opinion more interesting than Winstons love affair, which has not much to do with the declaration of the book. Read this book and you will see our world in a different way.

The Book might age - the story is ever up-to-date - Protagonist Winston Smith is living in Oceania - one of three superstates constantly at war with each other. Oceania is governed by The Party, claiming to be socialistic, but being in truth a totalitarian system. In the Ministry of Truth Winston works rewriting history, so that the Party is always and has always been right. Nevertheless he is working for the government, he starts to doubt it and that way starts his own little rebellion against the Party and he becomes a so-called Thoughtcriminal.To find out if he succeeds, what partners he finds and what dangers await him, you will read this great book yourself, for I won t tell you any further secrets.Orwell s book got five stars in my ranking, not only because it is written in a most skilful way, but also because of the precise description of Oceania s totalitarian government and it s cruel and brutal control over people. Few books have a topic like this, that gets even more up-to-date, while the paper on which it is written ages.Furthermore I have noticed, that some people find Goldstein s Book quite boring. Even so it is quite difficult to read, it summarizes the whole system of the party and is a shorter version of the warning 1984 should carry and is therefore in my point of view one of the most important passages of the book. What ever you might think about this, I still hope you will enjoy this masterpiece of a book the same way I have enjoyed reading it.

George Orwell - Master of disaster! - The heading might sound negativ, but the book was quite the opposite. Orwell s description of a totalitarian system in perfection is well done and shows how our future might look like.The main character Winston Smith is caught in a world with telescreens (Big Brother is watching you!) and a thoughtpolice, which will arrest you if you commit Thoughtcrime. During the book he tries to find allies, which could help him to bring down the gouvernment. This gouvernment simply consists of one party, namely The Party and controls whole Oceania, the country where the story takes place. There is a love story, too, but it is not a boring one, because in Oceanina it is forbidden to have a love affair, except for making new party members.The reason why the book gets only 4 stars is, that there is a part in it, where Winston reads an ohter book about the brotherhood, which is an organisation, which exists in the underground. This part is very long, but quite boring and even Orwell-Experts argue, why he wrote this part.In the end you have accredit, that this book is one the best one s in world literature, which everyone shoud have read.




1984