Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I first read 1984 for a high school English class almost 20 years ago, I was immediately drawn to Orwell's writing style. For every bit of dialog, there is MUCH more narration, but the narration is engrossing and intriguing. I love when Orwell uses long sentences with parallel phrasing, and he describes in detail a society that is frighteningly much like our own-- a crushingly intrusive government that uses constant and inescapable surveillance paired with a steady stream of falsehoods marketed as truth that caters to the 1% (the Inner Party) while the lower castes (the Outer Party and the Proles) suffer in poverty and neglect. If you're like me and love a good bleak novel that explores the basic depravity of man (other favorites of mine are Brave New World and Lord of the Flies), read 1984. Don't forget to give Animal Farm a try as well; it covers very similar themes using talking barnyard animals, but it's an easier read. Better read this book quickly because Big Brother Is Watching You.