1984 – George Orwell

Re-reading 1984 after a gap of fifty years would, you hope, prove a less menacing experience. Think again.

As a reminder, Winston Smith, a low level functionary in the Party, lives a dreary life under constant surveillance of his masters, symbolised by Big Brother. He starts to doubt the Party’s propaganda (indeed his job is to assist the re-writing of history) and wonders if there is a better way. Even thinking such a thing is an offence – ‘thoughtcrime’ in Newspeak – and after a brief secret rebellion, he is brought in for a horrific rehabilitation.

The central themes – surveillance, towing the party line, subscribing to their version of events, re-inventing truth – ‘what the Party holds to be the truth is the truth’ - is all frighteningly relevant today.

Where Orwell had Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia in mind, we now have Putin, Trump, the Taliban, and more authoritarian regimes besides, able to replace facts by their truth and impose acceptance through ignorance, corruption, and coercion. Instead of re-writing history, as Winston does, they label it a lie, fake news, a western/liberal elite/infidel (delete as applicable) plot.

Back to the book. Orwell paints a graphic picture of life under a totalitarian government. Smith is no hero, just an ordinary cog in the machine that goes wrong and needs repair. The lengthy and wordy treatise detailing the political science underpinning the regime sits a little uncomfortably in the middle of the book (though repays the reading), but either side of that the story flows well enough to a well-known and unwelcome conclusion.

So, well worth the re-read.