just finished ninteen eighty four

[schmintan]

i know the book mightnt fit in this forum ( i think i could make an arguement to make it fit) but i just wanted to share my enjoyment of this story. i was blown away by the complexity of the ideals proposed within the book, and although they are complex, they make sense and are easy to get your mind around. its quite a scary book. it makes you think things like " maby we all are in such an existance where we think we are well off but are only so because of what we are told", and you could argue that this is true to a limited extent. its very depressing, but the light patches where winston is with julia really help to show the true nature and goal of the human condition. it also shows how easily we are malled and formed into what the people around us want. i love how at the end, even when he knows and feels the bullet, he feels love toward big brother and sees this as a success or a goal attained.i could go on, but im sure most of you have read it. if you havnt, i thoroughly recommend it.

 

[sanityassassin]

nineteen eighty four could well fit in these forums as it is a book about the future at the time of writing so in theory could be classified as futuristic fantasy. It is a very good book which does make you think what would happen if the war continued how would the world change. it is orwells vision of the future during the bleak times after the second world war and it does scare you.



remember big brother is watching

 

[Thadlerian]

I think Nineteen Eighty Four (or 1984, as translated into Norwgian) is the single scariest book I've ever read. It's most of all the idea of an irreversible dystopia (no counter-revolt, no grass-root velvet revolution possible).

I used to reassure myself that the driving force behind this nightmare - the human lust for power as an end in itself - was against human nature. But I'm not so sure any more. Our ideals are constructed by our cultures and surroundings; if these go the wrong way, so will our idea of good and evil.

1984 fits well here, as it is a work of Science Fiction (a possible future outcome of the present when it was written).

 

[schmintan]

yea, i know what you mean. Also, the way in which the Inner Party (O Brien) can listen objectively to Winstons questions and statements, and totally blow them away by logic which is totally unlogical but in party terms, who set what is logical , his answers are logical. the points it raises on Solipsism are really intruging, and i think go way deeper than "the matrix" ever did, even though everyone i know would only be familiar with this theory via "matrix". it really makes you question if we are really wealthy and have good living conditions nowdays, or are we just conditioned to think so, and should we be expecting more. its not as extreeme as in the nook, but i think to an extent , its true. all governments tell us how well off we are compared to older generations and how far we have advanced, but this is all relative to an extent. the book really opened my eyes on the world today, not becommig a conspiracy freek or anything, but it just makes you think. it is one of the scariest books i have read, simply because of these points, because you could be in a society such as this, but not know it. excellent , scary stuff

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

i know the book mightnt fit in this forum

I'm curious to hear why you think discussion of a book like 1984 could conceivably not fit in an SF and Fantasy forum ...

(Although this thread might be a little more at home under "Classic SF" rather than "General Discussion.")

 

[GOLLUM]

Yes I was wondering that exact same thing?????

 

[weaveworld]

1984 - very scary

 

[ravenus]

It is a very good book which does make you think what would happen if the war continued how would the world change.

But it's something that rings true now. The entire premise of Big Brother is that of a government that wants to for various reasons monitor every thought process of its citizens and also try to control them however possible, and that issue is a permanant one.

 

[schmintan]

I'm curious to hear why you think discussion of a book like 1984 could conceivably not fit in an SF and Fantasy forum ...

well like you, i thought it was a sci fi kind of book, but in every book shop i went into , i couldnt find it in the sci fi/fantasy section. i finally asked at the info desk and was told it is in general fiction. i have since had a look in 2 more book stores, which also store the book in general fiction. this is why i wasnt sure if more literature smart people here might think it didnt belong here. thats all

 

[weaveworld]

I hope this makes sense, 1984 should be placed under sci-fi, I think because 1984 is now used in a lot of schools is placed under general literature. I first read 1984 at school and it was then and still is now, a eye opener. I read 'Animal Farm' a few years ago, I didn't like it as much as 1984 but it was a powerful book and haven't eaten meat since.

 

[Thadlerian]

The literary critics like 1984, therefore it has been raised out of the SF pit and redeemed.
Doesn't make it any less Science Fiction.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The kind of literature smart people who think that a book can't be science fiction and of interest to general readers, or genuine literature and still science fiction, don't spend much time in forums like this one, schmintan. So you can relax and post whatever you have to say without worrying how any of Them will respond.

 

[Shoegaze99]

well like you, i thought it was a sci fi kind of book, but in every book shop i went into , i couldnt find it in the sci fi/fantasy section.

You won't find Kurt Vonnegut's work in the sci-fi section, either, but make no mistake, a good deal of his work is science fiction.

Some 10 to 15 years from now, you don't find Philip K. Dick's work in the sci-fi section, either. It will have been moved to general/classic literature.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Honestly, it partly depends on the publisher and the imprint where a book ends up in the bookstores: Mainstream imprint, it goes in General Fiction (or Literature), Science Fiction imprint, it gets shelved with the other SF and Fantasy.

You can see this with older books that have gone into the public domain (say something by Verne or Wells) and several different publishers have reprints out at the same time; the book can migrate back and forth in the store, depending on which edition they have in stock, or even appear in different editions in different sections of the store simultaneously. If The Time Machine comes out as a Penguin Classic, you find it in General Fiction; if it's a Millenium Science Fiction Masterwork, it's in with the genre books.

What it comes down to, as often as not, is the packaging.

 

[schmintan]

The kind of literature smart people who think that a book can't be science fiction and of interest to general readers, or genuine literature and still science fiction, don't spend much time in forums like this one, schmintan. So you can relax and post whatever you have to say without worrying how any of Them will respond.

nice to hear. shows the accepting laid back attitude of this forum and its members. hopefully it'l stay that way. i wouldnt ever class myself as knowing anything about literature but i know what i like and its nice that thats accepted here and if i have an opinion on something its listened to .
well done all members

 

[Halloween Jack]

i loved that book. unfortunately it was so long ago that i read it that i can't remember all the interesting thoughts and philosophies it left me with. only the great concept of double think and it's definition, to understand double think you must use double think, or something. with regards to genre, it's sci-fi, fantasy, politics, philosophy, psychology ... is there a thing called social philosophy? if so that's what it was to me.

even though the book isn't perhaps as good, 'a brave new world' is an interesting view of state oppression and perhaps more likely. people really do have everything they want, or are bred to want. are they happier without their freedom?

also i thought the film 'brazil' took the ideas of 1984 and took them a stage further.

now i want to read it again.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Personally, I think it's important to be able to discuss books outside of science fiction/fantasy on the forums - I think being inclusive is healthier.

Even still, 1984 is a science fiction work anyway, and one of my favourites.

 

[GOLLUM]

The kind of literature smart people who think that a book can't be science fiction and of interest to general readers, or genuine literature and still science fiction, don't spend much time in forums like this one, schmintan. So you can relax and post whatever you have to say without worrying how any of Them will respond.

*Cheers Wildly*.....