Post #1852376

2026-05-01 16:25 UTC

I started reading it a few days back. I am still struggling to read it. This guy Winston, thinks so highly of himself, and so lowly of others. He calls his neighbours stupid, them being transferred to a department requiring “less intelligence”, while not being able to string a proper sentence himself while writing. Also his violent fantasies when he first sees Julia. I don’t know whether I’ll be able to continue the story or not. As just a novel, it is so off-putting. Aren’t lead characters supposed to be relatable?

Replies (4)

@greyscale@lemmy.grey.ooo 2026-05-02 11:15

You shouldn’t have to be able to self-insert to read a story.

Open ##1879281
@Scrath@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-05-02 14:37

I didn’t read the book but watched the movie instead. It needed a bit of patience to get through it to be honest. In my opinion, it’s more a kind of book/movie you read/watch because of its message, not because it’s particularly entertaining. In a way, I guess that could be seen as part of the message if you look at it as a warning of what could be instead of as a story that is fun to experience.

Open ##1884511
@nul42@lemmy.ca 2026-05-02 15:01

I recommend “Julia: A Novel” by Sandra Newman. It is a feminist retelling of the story from Julia’s perspective.

Open ##1885083
@noughtnaut@lemmy.world 2026-05-02 21:40

I wonder if you would find Doctorow’s “Little Brother” more palatable. It’s set in “modern times” (ugh, depressing to admit that no, it’s more accurately set in recent past before things in real life went even crazier out of whack). Also, the main characters are teens and young adults, and while the target audience is “young adults” it can certainly be an eye-opening experience for adult “sheeple” too (not implying you’re one, to be clear).

Open ##1903044