Daryl Zamora

One of the most tragic novels I’ve ever read, George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four deserves its place in the canon of classics.

The prose is gripping, lyrical in the right moments. Flashes of sadistic violence take turns with slow scenes of brightly lit torture. It’s a roller-coaster ride: it’s nauseating and you’re fastened to your seat.

Right at the heart of this dystopian world is the role of language. As a communications professional, I’m amazed and terrified by how much mere words can alter reality, as Orwell clearly illustrates with the concept of Newspeak. Designed to obliterate any idea contrary to the super-fascist society of Oceania, Newspeak is the penultimate weapon to enslave people in Orwell’s world. 

The ultimate weapon is, of course, doublethink. It’s a kind of intellectual dishonesty, but stretched to the extreme of misperceiving to alter reality. Philosophy’s First Principles are crushed. Polar opposites are no more. The explanation and narration of this perversion through the novel’s protagonist, Winston, is excruciating and heartbreaking.

In a way Orwell’s hellish universe is the grandfather to many dystopian, futuristic worlds (Lois Lowry’s The Giver and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale come to mind). But its grand plan of the complete annihilation of truth and free expression makes it the most sinister of all.

Highly recommended.