It's the small things in our surroundings that catch our attention. I received this book as a birthday gift, but I read it after a year or so. I saw many covers for this book, and the only common object I found was the EYE. Somehow this object caught my attention and on top of that I got referred to this book at many instances through my friends, colleagues and few random but important interviews over the news, highlighting, again and again, is India and other countries heading to the same era as mentioned in the book?
The book, as usual, is divided into three parts. The first one introducing the system that the protagonist is living in. The second deals with his love life. The third one about the consequences of his actions in the first two parts.
"UNDER THE SPREADING CHESTNUT TREE, I SOLD YOU AND YOU SOLD ME"
Even before I read the first page of the book, I might have gone through the above quote highlighted in the preface at least 10-15 times. Somehow I felt that there's a certain deep meaning to it. I was sure it has something to do with the relationship between two people, followed by some kind of betrayal. To find that, I hooked on to this book. Indeed I was correct, but I could never imagine the situation in which I would find the above quote between the lines of the book, it was very deep.
Winston, the protagonist, introduces us through the dystopian world he's living in. The Rules, the System, Big Brother, the Party, the Hate Speech, his job, his friends, his wife, the Brotherhood, his thoughts, his dreams - everything in a precise manner. The first part intricates everything mentioned in the previous statement. His life takes a new turn as soon as he's randomly proposed. Along with spending some quality time with the newfound mate in a very hostile world, he dreams of being a part of some incognito revolution. Like long lost lovers both decide to submit themselves to this so-called new party which might in future overthrow the current totalitarian regime. But as stated many times in the book, BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, indeed he is. When Winston and Julia are caught, they're not only punished but their personalities are molded to such extent that while standing next to each other after a certain number of years, they defy to share even an iota of relation that they had.
One of the best dystopian books, that I encountered after the HUNGER GAMES series. The intricacy in which all the characters and the world has been defined is something that I could expect from George Orwell only(since I have gone through his another classic: ANIMAL FARM). A book that should be read by every age group, especially when there any many possibilities around the world, that we might witness the same world as one witness while reading the book.
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