1. My friends recommended it. Most likely they read it in high school. High school book are generally dry and analyzed to death, and therefore widely read in sparknotes versions, so for several of them to recommend this one, it had to have been pretty good.
2. My aunt gave me 3 books for Christmas last year: The Lovely Bones, The Catcher In The Rye, and 1984. I figured I should have them all read before Christmas comes around again (IN LESS THAN 4 MONTHS!!!)
3. I owned the book and it was small enough to fit in my purse to take to work and read there in the case that the kids I watch wanted to play together and not fight.
Additionally, I borrowed the audiobook from the library and listen to that when I work out. I do like music when I work out, but I also use music when I study or write papers, so in general I am pretty good at tuning it out or having it for background noise, and that doesn't work as well on a treadmill. Audiobooks, on the other hand, require concentration, which means that I am concentrating on listening if I don't want to hear the same thing 10 times over. This consequently also means that I am not focusing on how far/fast I am running or how tired I am or how heavy my 2lb weights feel.
All that being said, I am 35% done with the book, and have just finished part 1. It is surprisingly interesting for being a) Orwell, b) negative utopia, c) a little slow moving.
a) The only other Orwell I have read is Animal Farm, twice, and I did not enjoy it either time. I had to read it as summer work before 9th grade, and I didn't understand it because we had never learned about Russia, and I didn't really get what this had to do with anything else. So, while I did not expect to like Orwell for all these reasons, I am actually enjoying this book.
b) Also in 9th grade, in our unit with Animal Farm, we had to read a short story called Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut. From what I remember, it was about a society where people are pulled down to the lowest common denominator. If one person is in a wheelchair, everyone has to be. While there are significant holes in the story (that mainly show that Vonnegut did not account for all types of diversity) I feel that Vonnegut has a point even in today's society where sometimes this happens in schools. At the end of the story, Harrison Bergeron pulls out of the chains and can fly. Ninth grade me was utterly confused and having a "question mark question mark" what the hell moment. Probably if I read it today I could figure out the ending. Anyway, Harrison Bergeron is another example of a negative utopia where people are supposed to be equal and happy in theory, but this does not work in actuality. Yes, everyone supporting Big Brother would get rid of a lot or partisan politics and political tension (our current situation in Washington comes to mind) but it's not realistic by any means. Any while in 1984 so far there are the party supporters and the proles, in a real society there would be countless other groups putting in their two cents. Though negative utopias don't exactly mirror real society (just as regular utopias don't mirror real society) I think 1984 has enough merit, issues and negligible holes in reasoning to make it valid and readable.
c) I have probably said this before, but my favorite movie is It's A Wonderful Life. And true to the title, the movie goes through the life of George Bailey: his childhood, his adult life, his marriage, his job, etc. and it doesn't get to "the good part" (disclaimer: I think the entire thing is good) aka the part with meaty plot until the last hour or so. So, in general, the movie sets itself up for over an hour and then tells a story with what it's set up. The first half of the movie is vitally important, but you can't appreciate it until you have seen what happens in the second half. I am not positive, but I have a feeling this is kind of like 1984. Having just finished part 1, I feel it is mostly setup with just a hint of plot. I've enjoyed it because I like stories about people's everyday lives. It's A Wonderful Life and Gone With The Wind are about peoples' lives and I love those two the most so far. Even Anna Karenina has its mundane parts that give away so much about the characters and lifestyle.
However, there is a distinct difference between any of those and 1984. The other books and films I've mentioned only have to set up characterization, family structures, time period, cause and effect, etc. We as readers (or viewers) can take for granted the ways in which people interact; the rules, laws, and social norms; feelings and relationships; even the things these characters might have in their houses. 1984 has to set up all of that, as well as characterization and structure and time period and cause and effect. 1984 shows a completely different world than the other works I've mentioned, so it has to start from scratch. Therefore, while I do feel it is moving slowly, it is for good reason and no more slowly than the others.
Overall, I'm excited for the rest of the book. I am hoping things will pull together at the end, and maybe an event or another character will appear to get the ball rolling. Maybe it'll be the spy girl or the super creepy thought police.
As a side note, I thought the picture on the front cover (and the little one on the spine) was a flower (or an exploding sun/space object), but my friends have informed me that it is in fact an eye. The fact that an eye is looking at me from my bookshelf creeps me out a little, so I'm going to continue to pretend it's a flower.
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