I wanna see him debate her
On War by Clausewitz?
this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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Sure, don't know how relevant it is but at least it's not fiction
From a worldbuilding perspective it fucking sucks. Like if you're going to build a strawman commie totalitarian state at least make it interesting.
Dude was practically in a comuna and didn't learn anything
Dude picked up arms against fascism and somehow learned the opposite lessons
I started reading it a few days back. I am still struggling to read it. This guy Winston, thinks so highly of himself, and so lowly of others. He calls his neighbours stupid, them being transferred to a department requiring "less intelligence", while not being able to string a proper sentence himself when writing. Also his violent fantasies when he first sees Julia. I don't know whether I'll be able to continue the story or not. As just a novel, it is so off-putting. Aren't lead characters supposed to be relatable?
I wonder if you would find Doctorow's "Little Brother" more palatable. It's set in "modern times" (ugh, depressing to admit that no, it's more accurately set in recent past before things in real life went even crazier out of whack). Also, the main characters are teens and young adults, and while the target audience is "young adults" it can certainly be an eye-opening experience for adult "sheeple" too (not implying you're one, to be clear).
Will try it out, thanks!
I recommend "Julia: A Novel" by Sandra Newman. It is a feminist retelling of the story from Julia's perspective.
I've never heard of this, that is very interesting and definitely goes to the top of my reading list. Thank you!
I didn't read the book but watched the movie instead and I don't know how much is different between the two.
It needed a bit of patience to get through it to be honest. In my opinion, it's more a kind of book/movie you read/watch because of its message, not because it's particularly entertaining.
In a way, I guess that could be seen as part of the message if you look at it as a warning of what could be instead of as a story that is fun to experience.
You shouldn't have to be able to self-insert to read a story.
That is a good point for a different book. I don't think I've seem anyone argue that you aren't supposed to relate to Winston Most-Common-Surname.
I didn't self-insert into winston, he's just a flawed character we're watching, like how people watch terrible people on TV but don't self-insert into trash reality television
For fun, here's Isaac Asimov on 1984.
Orwell was unable to conceive of computers or robots, or he would have placed everyone under non-human surveillance. Our own computers to some extent do this in the IRS, in credit files, and so on, but that does not take us towards 1984, except in fevered imaginations. Computers and tyranny do not necessarily go hand in hand. Tyrannies have worked very well without computers (consider the Nazis) and the most computerised nations in today’s world are also the least tyrannical.
Wow. Asimov made some good points, but that one sure didn't age well.
That is a fun read
Yep, I agree! Makes it clear that Orwell's works are popular for their propaganda value more than their literary merit.
It also makes it clear that the book was written as a Blair's personal feud against Stalin.
Yep!