4 out of 5 stars ****
| Very good. The narration by Simon Prebble is excellent. The protagonist, Winston, is aware of the injustice that occurs every day but he cannot say anything about it or even look like he is thinking about it. There are "thought crimes" and "facial crimes" when one is guilty of looking guilty. Anything the government, "Big Brother," does cannot be wrong so when "Big Brother" is wrong, history is rewritten to favor the actions of the government. The goal of the government is world domination, prevention of independent thinking by the masses, and massive genocide without being caught, to cull the herd. The epilogue explains Newspeak, a carefully developed vocabulary that actually diminishes over time. Generalized terms replace undesirable words that promote independent thinking and daydreaming. All communication by the masses is to bolster the function of the collective or else it is a disease to the system. |
