I was craving more dystopian fiction after rereading The Handmaid's Tale in April, so I went straight to the (arguable) mother of all such novels for May. I seem to remember reading this book in high school, but I didn't remember much of anything about it, which was a good thing - I could experience it anew.
This book is another terrifying look into totalitarianism and how it destroys the essence of what makes human beings human. Winston Smith's job in particular is horrifying to me - as much as I know it's difficult to get to much of the time, I value the concept of "truth" and being falsely accused is something that instantly makes me incredibly angry. I cannot imagine being in a situation where total lies were considered the norm - and yet it happens all the time with alarming regularity. I am not sure if I'm making sense so I'm going to stop here. Everyone should read this book.
On another note, this book is #9 on the ALA's Banned and Challenged Classics list. Once again I have to imagine that this is mainly the work of those who would use this book as a how-to manual.
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