From Goodreads:
Among the seminal texts of the 20th century, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a rare work that grows more haunting as its futuristic purgatory becomes more real. Published in 1949, the book offers political satirist George Orwell’s nightmare vision of a totalitarian, bureaucratic world and one poor stiff’s attempt to find individuality. The brilliance of the novel is Orwell’s prescience of modern life–the ubiquity of television, the distortion of the language–and his ability to construct such a thorough version of hell. Required reading for students since it was published, it ranks among the most terrifying novels ever written.
1984 by George Orwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
While this is the stereotypical dystopian view of the world and regarded as a classic, it was not an enjoyable read. As a collection of views of a disturbing world that was clearly influenced by the issues in Nazi Germany and Communist Russia it gives a depressing impression of man’s inhumanity and the pointlessness of survival. Yet we survive! I am glad it was an audio book as being a skim reader, I am sure I would have missed much of the intricate detail that Orwell clearly pondered on for a considerable period. Elements of the emerging philosophical views of that time on knowledge were interesting. Doubt I will be seeking this out to read again but I will acknowledge it is a magnificent writing effort and clearly has influenced the world post publication with Big Brother and the Orwellian view of the world impacting countless stories and movies in so many ways.