My summer choice book for British Literature this year was 1984 by George Orwell. Everyone has heard of the book and all its praise. In case you haven’t, it’s about an authoritarian government taking full and utter control. The title of the novel comes from the year it is set in— the year which Orwell sought to make cautionary predictions about. 

I think the novel accomplishes this quite well, but I do have one problem with it: it’s too long. The novel adds what I believe is an unnecessary love affair, one whose execution I do not agree with. In fact, to me it seemed perfunctory. The whole thing just seemed very unnatural. 

The world building in the novel was very good, but I think it was a bit slow. The setting is wonderfully described in the first few chapters… and then not so much is built on it. Instead, the aforementioned inorganic relationship “grows” without feeling fuller in any sense. We get snippets of Winston’s—the main character’s—past, but (and perhaps this is the point) it never seems to go anywhere. In the latter half of the book there is also this fairly aggravating and tedious passage in which everything you had tried to piece together is just simply explained on a silver platter and still is crazy slow. 

Personally, I think the message of 1984 would be better as a short story. Besides, the bulk of the plot only takes place in the last part of the book anyways—and even that is drawn out. In my mental library of themes, I can remember Animal Farm’s message just as clearly as 1984’s, which I only just read. 

So, to any incoming sophomores next year: consider something besides 1984 for summer reading just because it’s the only option you’ve heard of (I recommend Klara and the Sun).