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Nineteen Eighty-Four cover art

Nineteen Eighty-Four

By: George Orwell
Narrated by: Philip Glenister
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Summary

Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic dystopian novel by English author George Orwell. Published in 1949, it is set in the eponymous year and focuses on a repressive, totalitarian regime. Read by gritty and accomplished actor Philip Glenister from the acclaimed crime series Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes. The story follows the life of one seemingly insignificant man, Winston Smith, a civil servant assigned the task of falsifying records and political literature, thus effectively perpetuating propaganda, who grows disillusioned with his meagre existence and so begins an ultimately futile rebellion against the system.

The novel has become famous for its portrayal of surveillance and society's increasing encroachment on the rights of the individual. Since its publication, the terms Big Brother and Orwellian have entered the popular vernacular. This is a special celebratory release to celebrate 60 years since Nineteen Eighty-Four was first published.

©2009 CSA Word (P)2009 CSA Word

What listeners say about Nineteen Eighty-Four

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent narration brings 1984 alive in 2009

It's some years since I read 1984 and the surprise about this novel is how it has retained its relevance since it's first publication. It is as applicable to modern society as it was when first written. 1984 is not a light listen. It's a thought provoking tale of manipulative social engineering and the loss of both freedom of speech and thought.

Philip Glennister's narration is first class. In particular, his soft Irish O'Brien brought the character alive for me. I doubt that his reading of this classic novel can be surpassed.

The only negative, in my opinion, is the classical music that plays inbetween chapters. I like classical music and I like audio books but not combined! I found it irksome and didn't appreciate the interruption to the flow of the narration.
Although it was not to my taste, it was not enough to spoil the enjoyment of the superb reading and interpretation of the words of Orwell delivered by Glennister.

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18 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

First class narration

1984 is a horrifying tale and not easily forgotten. Philip?s perfect narration brings the story to life and keeps you hanging in until the end.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A must read.

This story is akin to the dystopia love story of a Hand Maid’s Tale but I found 1984 to be better. It was better because it delved into the other areas of the context/setting a bit more.

I learned more about human nature in 1984 and there were meaningful concepts in it that I will remember for life, eg, Child Hero & 2 minutes of hate.

Chapter 4 was my favourite chapter. He reads the forbidden book in this chapter and the concepts in that book are patently relevant in 2020 as they clearly were when Orwell wrote this book.

Overall I enjoyed the book and the voice reading it. I became lost in its world from time to time.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Scarily accurate of what's happening in the world

Narrator excellent. I found it slow to start but there was a lot to get my head around before the story developed late chapter 3 and then I began to really get into the story and relate it to what's happening in the world today. Think Alexa, smart television, PC - villified for having an opinion, Europe, impression, poverty, need I go on. Recommended read for everyone.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Double Plus Good

Well worth revisiting this classic. War is Peace.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

I read the novel years ago but the audio experience was new to me, bringing out different aspects of this terrifying story and believable characters . It should be required reading/listening at a time when apathy is leading us into a fascist dictatorship.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

The Story that started them all..

I enjoyed this, really strangely eerily still has connotations in the modern world.The Master spoke.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • K
  • 09-09-21

Current government guidebook

supposed to be a warning of the future but seems to have turned into a guidebook.

Utterly terrifying.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Nice recording of an important classic

I have read this book 4 times, once a decade. It remains my favourite and unfortunately every reading reminds me how we keep on sleepwalking into distopia. Just the last decade has brought us entertainment devices that listen to us and advances in AI. I was nervous about trusting it to an audiobook reader but it was a very solid reading. I will be listening again.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Captivating but terrifying

Nineteen Eighty Four is one of the best novels I have listened to. Throughly thought provoking and really draws you into Winstone Pov and the crap sack world he lives in. The story is a bit short and makes you crave more wanting to know what comes next. I highly recommend it.

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1 person found this helpful