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Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
#11
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
(August 18, 2012 at 1:22 am)RaphielDrake Wrote:
(August 18, 2012 at 12:52 am)cratehorus Wrote: Orwell is retarded....

"I worked out an anarchistic theory that all government is evil, that the punishment always does more harm than the crime and the people can be trusted to behave decently if you will only let them alone."
-George Orwell

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/Goldman/toc.html (free version)
http://www.amazon.com/Anarchism-Essays-B...B000FC1F7K

Anarchism and Other Essays
by Emma Goldman (1910)

Why do I get the feeling you quickly googled George Orwell, found that quote then made the assumption based on that quote he was an anarchist because he called his theory anarchistic then quickly used google to find someone against anarchism?
He wasn't an anarchist by the way, he was a socialist.

Have you even read any book of his or are you just being an argumentative ass for the sake of it?

I was under the impression that he was both.

And then that person he linked to appears to be an anarcho-syndicalist, advocating for anarchy...
I to am rather confused by his post.

And that most definately appears to be a quotemine of Orwell! The book where it is from:
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=QFEs...ut&f=false
(click the 3rd search result on that page)

the next sentence after your quote:
"This of course was sentimental nonsense. I see now..."
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#12
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Inside the whale,
Which he wrote about serving in the Empire, there is a little part of it about an execution he carried out, that is so poiniant.
Down and out in London and Paris
Another autobiographical work by Orwell, reed the part about working in a top Paris Restaurant, and It will stop you from looking wealthy and eating out ever again. But both these books I personally find good in parts only.

If you read Ulysses, read Flan O'Brian's 'the third Policeman', or 'swim a two birds' after it, and I think you will laugh your socks off.
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#13
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The title '1984' is simply the reverse of the year Orwell wrote book, 1948. At least in part, it is meant to be a critique of immediate post WW2 Britain.

Some more dystopian books popular when I was in my teens and early 20's:

'Lord Of The Flies' Louis Golding. There have also been two film adaptations. I think the first is the best

'Animal Farm'- George Orwell.

'Brave New World' Aldous Huxley. I think even more chilling than Orwell's heavy handed fascist view in '1984'.

'Farenheit 451' Ray Bradbury

'SS-GB' Len Deighton. Set in a Britain which was conquered by the Nazis. There were some very cross letters to The Times when it was first published. In the book,there are a goodly number of Brits who collaborate withe Nazis. The very idea caused Col. Blimps all over Britain to have apoplexy.
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#14
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
I think 1984 is Orwells worst book. Still damn good.

I think that dystopian can border horror, or can be a sub genre, Shell.
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#15
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
(August 18, 2012 at 3:04 am)5thHorseman Wrote: I thunthink 1984 is Orwells worst book. Still damn good.

What would you consider his best? I've only read Animal Farm and 1984.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie and with strange aeons even death may die." 
- Abdul Alhazred.
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#16
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
His 'real work' is my favourite; Homage to Catalonia and Down and out in Paris and London are superb.
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#17
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Incidentally if you read Ulysses read it out loud, or at the speed you would talk. Then the rhythms and jokes and connections zing out. Try to speed read it and it is so much mush, which is why so many find it a hard book to read.

And on Orwell when I said good in parts the parts which were good are stunning

A writer which I don't hear spoken about these days, but is among the best writers in english which is even more amazing because I think he only learnt english as an adult, Joseph Conrad. Anything that man touched is pure gold from short stories to epics, which off the top of my head I can't think of an equal in english.
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#18
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
(August 18, 2012 at 1:22 am)RaphielDrake Wrote:
(August 17, 2012 at 10:28 pm)Ryantology Wrote: A true classic. I need to get another copy of it, I haven't read it since just after high school.

Until then, I'm doing my seventh annual reading of House of Leaves, by Mark Z. Danielewski. Probably the best horror novel ever written. I recommend it to everybody.

Can't say I've heard of it but I'll definitely give it ago. Could you give me a hint as to what its about?

I am terrible at summarizing things and this book is uniquely difficult to summarize even when you're good at it.

This is a good attempt which doesn't spoil anything.

I'll admit, it's certainly not for everyone but I love it sooo much.
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#19
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Heart of Darkness is an epic one by Conrad. Good choice, jonb.
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#20
RE: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
(August 18, 2012 at 2:15 am)padraic Wrote: 'Brave New World' Aldous Huxley. I think even more chilling than Orwell's heavy handed fascist view in '1984'.

I knew someone would have beaten me to it. I'd also recommend 'Brave New World', frightening, as Pad said, and perhaps more relevant today in our society.

There's some other recommendations I'd second in this thread: 'Animal Farm', 'Heart of Darkness', 'Farenheit 451'. My own suggestions would be:

'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller - perhaps straying a bit from the theme, but a very good book. I read it a long time ago so I probably have a shallow (and hazy) interpretation of the book, but it seemed to be a critique of a detached, hierarchical command structure, in addition to other things. It's satirical and is very funny (I think my sense of humour would be impoverished if I hadn't read it), although I recall it becoming quite dark and powerful toward the latter part of the book.

'Level 7' by Mordecai Roshwald. It was written during the Cold War and is set, for the most part, in a bunker (on the eponymous 'Level 7'). It follows one of the 'Push Buttons' who's in control of launching nuclear weapons in the case of an outbreak of 'hot' war. Again, I read this quite a while back, but I vaguely remember the themes of MAD, dehumanisation (the people in the bunkers are known by their roles and numbers, not names), authoritarianism (maybe?) and detachment (the idea of war being fought by proxy, rather than actual combatants).
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