One of the 5 Most Important Books of the Last 125 Years – The New York Times
In 1984, London is a bleak and oppressive city, tightly controlled by the Thought Police. Winston Smith, a lowly member of society, works to rewrite history in line with the Party’s version of truth. But as he begins to question the system, he confronts the terrifying forces that govern his life.
This edition, authorized by The Orwell Estate, follows the definitive text of Orwell’s complete works, established by Professor Peter Davison. It also includes an afterword by novelist Thomas Pynchon, who shares his reflections on totalitarianism and paranoia in the modern world. The superb translation by Miguel Temprano García is the most recent and highly acclaimed.
Critics Have Said…
“Here we are no longer dealing with what we normally recognize as ‘literature.’ We are, I repeat, dealing with visionary energy.”
— Umberto Eco
“It is not difficult to imagine that Orwell, in 1984, was imagining a future for his son’s generation, a world he wished to warn him about.”
— Thomas Pynchon
“Freedom is such a painful obligation that there will always be those who prefer to give up. The virtue of books like 1984 is their ability to remind us that the freedom of responsible human beings is not the same as that of animals.”
— Anthony Burgess
“Since Kafka’s The Trial, no fantastic work has achieved the logical horror of 1984.”
— Arthur Koestler
“A magnificent and deeply interesting book.”
— Aldous Huxley
“Orwell produced the clearest and most engaging English prose of the 20th century. But he was obviously much more than just a great writer. He is needed today because of his passion for truth.”
— The Sunday Times
“Almost before anyone else, he understood that the corruption of words is both a symptom and a cause of the corruption of thought.”
— Antonio Muñoz Molina
“A radically independent intellectual whose work is of an incorruptible moral clarity.”
— Guillermo Altares, El País
“Probably the most influential Western writer of the 20th century. […] The real Orwell, whoever he is, is still taking shape.”
— The Times
“Orwell was the moral force of his age.”
— Spectator
Alexander –
The way of narrating it, the story, thinking that at that time people thought about what the future would be like, something not too far from what we are now.
Pablo –
Excellent book. The fiction it describes is applicable to so many realities of today that it is frightening.
Yvonne –
The writer’s vision of what we are experiencing today is impressive!