January 2012 Guest Editor Simon Lelic selects Nineteen Eighty-Four...
Not exactly an original pick, I realise, and some (irrationally, in my mind) would dispute its literary merits. On the other hand, it has proved almost Shakespearean in its impact on the English psyche – and certainly on mine. I read it first for GCSE English, and I still have the copy I should probably have returned to my teacher at the end of the school year. Which makes me worry now that perhaps I have deprived someone else of the pleasure. I’m including it here as penance, but also because I couldn’t not.
The Lovereading view...
Chosen by the public through a survey to coincide with the 10th birthday celebrations of World Book Day 2007, this title is one of ‘the ten books the nation can’t live without’. Have you read them all? Below are links to each title and position on the list.
1. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë
4. Harry Potter JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations Charles Dickens
| Primary Genre | Dystopian and utopian fiction |
| Other Genres: |
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Winston Smith is a good worker. He supports the Party. He is good at his job rewriting history to Government specification. Big Brother watches him, but there is nothing to see.
Winston's struggle against the totalitarian world he inhabits is a closely guarded secret. It exists only in his mind until he begins a secret love affair with Julia, a fellow worker. Is this enough to push him to revolution? Or is it the beginning of his downfall?
A masterwork of dystopian fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is harrowingly prescient, and its impact has stretched around the globe.
With a new introduction by political editor and writer Ian Dunt, this brand new edition of a science fiction classic is a must-have for any collector.
Nineteen Eighty-Four features in the following genres: Dystopian and utopian fiction, Classic fiction: general and literary, Gift Books, Narrative theme: Politics, Speculative fiction, Fiction, General Fiction, Stationery and miscellaneous items, Lifestyle, Hobbies and Leisure, Fiction: narrative themes
Nineteen Eighty-Four is available in Hardback, Paperback, Ebook, CD-Audio, Paperback (b Format)
Nineteen Eighty-Four was written by George Orwell and published by Gollancz an imprint of Orion
Nineteen Eighty-Four has 320 pages
£8.99
