1984

In a word - terrifying. Ok, two words: disturbing.

I've been on a dystopian kick lately, and I figured that I ought to at least read the original dystopian novel. I'm so glad I did, but I can't deny that it's given me nightmares. I think the thing that's most interesting about this novel is that, though it was written in 1948, it manages to still be relevant. And prophetic. The really disturbing part is how prophetic it is (scratch that - the most disturbing thing is the ending, but the prophetic stuff is pretty freaky too). It makes me want to question the world around me a bit more. Is history really as accurate as I think? What about current news media? How much information about me does the government know? I tell ya, this novel is enough to make a person permanently paranoid. I think it's good and important to question the world around us, though.

This novel will speak to different people in different ways and I'm curious: have you read it? What did you make of it? For me it felt like less of a novel and more of an essay sometimes (especially when part of the book was Winston reading pages and pages of a novel written by a rebel leader). That doesn't mean I don't think this is an incredible novel, but it certainly didn't read like I was expecting it to.

One warning - there is some sexual content in 1984. Nothing horribly explicit or drawn out, but in case you start reading it on my recommendation and find yourself shocked - you've been warned.

Oh, and I find myself just needing to say this because I can:

2 + 2 = 4.

Not 5.