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Written 75 years ago, 1984 was George Orwell's chilling prophecy about the future. And while 1984 has come and gone, his dystopian vision of a government that will do anything to control the narrative is timelier than ever...
Winston Smith toes the Party line, rewriting history to satisfy the demands of the Ministry of Truth. With each lie he writes, Winston grows to hate the Party that seeks power for its own sake and persecutes those who dare to commit thoughtcrimes. But as he starts to think for himself, Winston can't escape the fact that Big Brother is always watching...
A startling and haunting novel, 1984 creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the novel's hold on the imaginations of whole generations, or the power of its admonitions—a power that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (1/8/2026)
George Orwell's 1984. With everything that is happening in our country and the world these days, one of the reading groups I'm in has chosen to read this novel. History may, or may not, be repeating itself. Our objectives as we read are to be aware of our own emotions - how does it make us feel? ...
-Lorraine_D
Did you read any books in 2025 that are widely considered classics? If so, which ones and why?
Our book club read George Orwell's 1984– dark, heavy and oh so pertinent!!! Many of us assumed we had read it in high school, but I suspect we may have only read excerpts. Much of it was 'new' to me— there were plenty of parts I don't think I would have forgotten. The novel was 'enhanced' by view...
-Debra_L
What's your favorite banned book?
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This book is an absolute classic. People must learn to read books with appreciation of time, place & context. Rather than ban the book because of offensive language, teach it as Twain's commentary on race relations and the relationship developed b...
-Vivian_H
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This information about 1984 was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
George Orwell (pseudonym for Eric Blair [1903-50]) was born in Bengal and educated at Eton; after service with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, he returned to Europe to earn his living penning novels and essays. He was essentially a political writer who focused his attention on his own times, a man of intense feelings and intense hates. An opponent of totalitarianism, he served in the Loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. Besides his classic Animal Farm, his works include a novel based on his experiences as a colonial policeman, Burmese Days, two firsthand studies of poverty, Down and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier, an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, Homage to Catalonia; and the extraordinary novel of political prophecy whose title became part of our language, 1984.
If you liked 1984, try these:
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Published 2026
Remember—words are your weapons, they're your tools, your currency: a twisty, slippery descent into the rhetoric of truth and power from a "powerful new voice in British Literature" (The Sunday Times).
by Sandra Newman
Published 2024
An imaginative, feminist, and brilliantly relevant-to-today retelling of Orwell's 1984, from the point of view of Winston Smith's lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.
by Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Published 2023
A major reassessment of Winston Churchill that examines his lasting influence in politics and culture.
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