1984

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George Orwell

Harcourt, Brace, New York, 2010; originally published 1949, English

Fiction

Famous satire of bureaucratic totalitarianism and the power-hungry.

On 2 book lists

Jonathan Barnbrook

On Jonathan Barnbrook’s Book List

Orwell is one of the most influential 20th-century writers in Britain and my teenage years were consumed with voraciously reading everything by him. His more documentary-style books, like Down and Out in Paris and London or The Road to Wigan Pier, have a clear unfussy style, yet he still manages to tell a story brilliantly. Orwell’s 1984 has been so influential on my work, from the way he analyzes dictatorships to terms like “Newspeak” and “Doublethink,” which crystalize how our thoughts are shaped (or repressed) by the society we live in. I am constantly going back to him for ideas to include in my work.

Tim Brown

On Tim Brown’s Book List

The novel that introduced us all to the power of technology to undermine freedom.

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