George Orwell

[canadianloon]

I didn't like Animal Farm at all... it was too straight forward and it felt like I was being told what to think... which is kind of ironic.

1984 changed my life though. Doublethink is already happening and we use cognitive dissonance to deal with the internal contradictions. It's not that far of a path to his dystopia. Sometimes, I think Oceania/Eurasia/Eastasia is already happening...

What do you guys think about his essays? I think they're a little dated but he has good points about nationalism and how people deny racism under the mask of being proud of their country. He has some pretty weird ideas about what it means to be "English" though.

[steviestare]

I like almost everything he has ever written. Minus a few things here and there.

[Skadrist]

Homage to Catalonia is a great book and my favorite of his.

[canadianloon]

Homage to Catalonia is a great book and my favorite of his.

Oh yes. He creates the atmosphere of war quite well... not just the fighting but how people work together to deal with it. Weird as it is, war unites people...

[yoyoninjagirl]

I've enjoyed almost everything I've read by Orwell. I'll admit Animal Farm was quite straightforward, but it did change the way I thought about things when I first encountered it during 9th grade.

[Neo Cassady]

1984 is the only thing of his I've read, but it's one of my favorite books (top 3). I really want to read more of his stuff.

[canadianloon]

1984 is the only thing of his I've read, but it's one of my favorite books (top 3). I really want to read more of his stuff.

1984 is top notch. It says so much about our society without rubbing our faces in it... it's a rude awakening to realize that we just might be heading down that path and no one is smart enough to stop it... or care enough either.

His other novels don't really stand out, but I enjoy a lot of his essays. He seemed to have a bit of a hard on for H.G. Wells though. *shrug*

How the Poor Die (http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300011h.html#part39)

[stayforawhile]

I absolutely love 1984.

[CrazyBlue]

Animal Farm was a great book. Yes, it was a short read, but any longer and it wouldn't have the same effect, but when reading 1984 it almost felt like a spiritual sequal to Animal Farm. But none the less 1984 was pure genious. Especially the whole concept around 2+2=5.

[Dre Okorley]

I absolutely love 1984.

Ditto.

[stayforawhile]

Ditto.
Mhmm it's good stuff.

[myhearturhands]

i've only read animal farm. i plan on reading 1984 after im done with my current book.

[sheslostcontrol]

I didn't like Animal Farm at all... it was too straight forward and it felt like I was being told what to think... which is kind of ironic.

Just to bring up the being told what to think part, Orwell meant to do that, so we could see how the Animals (and the Russian proletariat at the time felt), what with being stripped of their identity and equality.

Anyways,

I adore Orwell. I LOVED Animal Farm, I thought it was VERY clever, and helped me to understand communism more. I used to think it was an awful thing, but it wasn't, it's just with everything one person always wants to take control. 1984 is my second favourite book of all time. Orwell astounds me as a writer, but he can't quite knock my love of Wuthering Heights off the top spot :-)

[Phish724]

politics and the English language is one of his best essays

[TotalCollapse]

I had to read Animal Farm for summer reading and now I'm reading 1985.

[diehtc0ke]

1984 is top notch. It says so much about our society without rubbing our faces in it... it's a rude awakening to realize that we just might be heading down that path and no one is smart enough to stop it... or care enough either.

His other novels don't really stand out, but I enjoy a lot of his essays. He seemed to have a bit of a hard on for H.G. Wells though. *shrug*

How the Poor Die (http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks03/0300011h.html#part39)
I think Burmese Days is worth reading. I've also read Coming Up For Air and Keep the Aspidistra Flying and those are not. Homage to Catalonia, though, is one of my favorite books.

[BryterJonah]

1984 is top notch. It says so much about our society without rubbing our faces in it... it's a rude awakening to realize that we just might be heading down that path and no one is smart enough to stop it... or care enough either.

His other novels don't really stand out

We'll probably be heading down this "path" forever. Not really a rude awakening. More like one of those feelings you get when some conspiracy theorist spouts "evidence" to support his claims and you, spur of the moment, feel like shitting yourself. Or how there are always some christians somewhere claiming that the end is nigh, always. I'm not trying to belittle Orwell, just saying I don't like to be overcautious at the expense of brilliant fiction.

Coming Up For Air has always been my favorite Orwell novel.