Selections from One-Star Amazon Reviews of Orwell’s 1984

Posted on by Biblioklept

[Ed. note: The following citations come from one-star Amazon reviews of George Orwell’s novel 1984. I think 1984 is an important dystopian work (although I think Huxley gave us a better book and a more accurate vision in his novel Brave New World). Anyway, I find myself fascinated by one-star Amazon reviews for some reason (see also: See also: Melville’s Moby-Dick, Joyce’s Ulysses and Markson’s Wittgenstein’s Mistress) and to be clear, I think some of the one-star reviews of 1984–including ones I cite here—make some pretty valid points (others are atrocious, of course). I’ve preserved the reviewers’ unique styles of punctuation and spelling].

1984 is a fictional novel by George Orwell.

I don’t really like futuristic based books…

1984 might have been scary 100 years ago, but not now.

…the plot is fairly simplistic but with redundant lines. “Oceania has always been war with Eastasia.” “Freedom is slavery.” “Big Brother is watching you.” In other words, it was nothing but a lot of nonsensical fillers.

I truly believe that Orwell’s sole purpose for writing this novel was to encourage anarchy, and to convince his readers to be subordinate to authority.

The text was so long and unelaborate.

George Orwell is no wordsmith and his style of writing stinks and flows like verbal diarrhea.

i give this book one star i had to read it for class and i know it’s suposed to be a “classic” but god itis awful. first of all its NOTHING like the future is probly going to turn out. second of all every one says the aurthor george orwell is so trippy and wierd but i think he’s just trying to cover up for the fact that HE CAN’T WRITE. please george do us all a faver and stop writing books.

I am not at all intrested in the goverment. This may be part of the reason that I didnt like it.

I personally think big brother is the man.

It is crude, heavy-handed, superficial propaganda.

…a boring, unoriginal one-hit wonder who wanted to make a buck rehashing much-talked-of, much-written-of themes.

It is dark, depressing, and I finished reading it feeling like less of a human than when I started.

Quote from “1984”: “Humanity is nothing more than one man shoving another man’s face in the mud.” So, “1984” tells us that humans are completely useless and we have no reason to exist.

It was just thoughts of a sad man with perverse and suspicouis thoughts. The main character constantly dwelled on how horrible everything was and eventually how he was going to fight against it. But never did, unless you count having an affair and writing in a journal or buying an old paperweight.

Keep your dictionary handy.

I was greatly dissapointed with the redundent and unecessary words.

For me the book took a downword turn during the time where Winston started having a love affair with some girl.

…it doesn’t make any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King.

The main character, Winston, daydreams about raping Julia, who later becomes his dirty mistress. Then about a hundred pages later, they get caught by the Thought Police, thrown into “prison,” and are brain washed. That’s pretty much what happens.

…and must we really keep reading in full detail the horror and disgust of Winston’s vericose veins?!

Today, his book is the modern bible of the paranoid disgruntled white male and other conspiracy nutcases.

Human beings are BETTER than this…

In addiction, the contradictions throughout the novel were frustrating.

On the surface it seems to be an interesting glance at the “future” that our grandparents envisioned. This however could not be farther from the truth. 1984 is in fact a lame, boring, and novel that attempts to be philosophical.

…a monumental ode to nothingness, an ideologically streamlined state of unbelievable being.

And please for the love of God don’t read that “Brave New World” book by Hoxley. It is twice as worse as 1984.

Last time I ever read a history book by this Orwell scrub. He doesn’t know a thing about the 80s. Not ONCE did he mention Def Leppard or Karma Chameleon.

Published by Biblioklept

22 thoughts on “Selections from One-Star Amazon Reviews of Orwell’s 1984”

  1. This is my favorite: “I truly believe that Orwell’s sole purpose for writing this novel was to encourage anarchy, and to convince his readers to be subordinate to authority.”

    How great! Thanks for the literal LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Those were pretty random comments. (I enjoyed your wry sense of humor in picking them out!) I’m convinced that the Def Leppard and Karma Chameleon were deliberately thrown in by the reviewer (I mean, even a dunce would know SOME basic facts about the book, especially if he/she had to read it for a class) — pretty hilarious.
    Seriously, I think the current climate today in the rigid-minded sectors of society pretty much endorse and mirror BOTH dystopias (Orwell’s and Huxley’s) in their world-view. That’s what makes those two writers so very scary. They have the unflinching power to look at the world with clear eyes and not shirk from telling the truth as they saw it.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. And conscious people wonder why economic and political mammonites walk off unhindered with the common wealth and organize men into groups who kill each other. The Maoists were on to something by outlawing every thing human, making people live in dormitories and wear identical clothing. Where they failed was not distributing free copies of Def Lepard, is it, and Stephen King movies. Free guns for everyone! The playbook for the Bush II administration came right out of Newspeak. Justifies destroying a country in order to save it.

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  19. Hilarious. Proves the premise of the book. Just substitute corporate fascism for socialism, as if there were a difference. Only the poor and disadvantaged need to be educated anyway.

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