Years ago I had read Animal Farm and I loved it, 1984 has been on my ‘to read’ list ever since and I have finally found the time to read it. I fell in love with it before I had even finished the first chapter.

1984 centers around Winston Smith, living in a world controlled by The Party and Big Brother. There is no secrecy and no trust, just loyalty to The Party and unquestioning their ways - if you question their ways or seen as a threat you are ‘vaporized’. However Winston isn’t like everyone else, he secretly hates Big Brother and longs to find someone like him. The novel follows from his rebellion in the form of a diary; rebellion in the form of love to the horrific inner workings of the Ministry of Love.

This society terrified me from the beginning; the thought that these people were being forced to live like this shocked me. Although despite how disturbing I found it I couldn’t put the book down - I just had to find out more about it and more about Winston. What made this novel so frightening was the fact that this could happen. There are always people out there who want to rule; and we’ve seen in the past how people can be brainwashed and follow power blindly. However the characters don’t seem to remember the past, a life before The Party and the war with Eurasia, everything has been erased and rewritten in NEWSPEAK (Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer - all gone!)

The novel is split into three parts, the first is there to introduce the reader to this new society. The second is about a hidden love affair and the third, the consequences. At first it doesn’t seem like there’s anything going on in the way of action - some may find this a little boring but I was so fascinated to hear about The Party and their rules that I didn’t care. The plot beings to thicken in the second part and is in full swing by the third. Even if you feel like giving up I strongly advise that you stick with it as everything starts to make sense and the ending is sensational - it was how I imagined it from the start although it still left me speechless and seldom.

What made this novel even more enjoyable was the characters. It was very easy for me to identify with Winston as I felt the same disdain to this new way of living that he has. This reinforced my opinion that Orwell is such a talented writer as this book just made me feel so much; I could feel myself being manipulated by his words - ironically much like many characters were manipulated by words by The Party. As a reader I wanted him to challenge what was happening and to escape unscathed. He is the only character we’re able to trust (however at times it appears there are other people on our side). Then there is Julia who loves him and they’re both cautiously ecstatic about finding someone like them - for a while it looks like there is hope for our protagonist.

I genuinely didn’t see a lot of the twists coming and I wasn’t ready, or able to predict, the horrors of the Ministry of Love. This just made the book even more exciting for me. There were times when my jaw literally dropped because of various revelations. Everything ties in so well and by the end all the puzzle pieces fit together and you realise what has been going on; you even see what The Party is really like with their methods.

1984 is the first novel, for a long time, that I have really loved. I have read many dystopian novels and none of them has affected me in the way that this has. It has easily made its way onto my list of favourite books and I know that re-reading this will be just as amazing as it was the first time round. I’ve only just put it down and I already want to be sucked back into it.

This is a novel that I will never forget and I think everyone should be exposed to it.