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I don't remember the first time I read this book. It was a long time ago (probably when the rest of the trilogy was still being written I suppose, because I don't remember reading them at all).

Too tired for a proper review right now, mainly because I didn't sleep long enough last night because I couldn't put this down until I'd finished it. Maybe that tells you something.

I just have to ask: crippling diseases aside, is Jack a Mary-Sue?

I first read 1984 as a 13 year old and was blown away by it. I managed to have to read it again for school purposes twice in during high school and even still managed to like it.

This was on the other side of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Reading it in 2009 is different. Orwell's pessimistic world view with the ultimate victory of three different versions of totalitarian socialism has obviously not come to fruition.

Unfortunately, I was still scared to my bones reading this book. Sure, the enemy(ies) might be different, but I'm not sure that Orwell was all that wrong in his view of human nature. Could his vision still come true: perhaps. In the same way as he saw: no.

Orwell's command of the English language is superb. I went into reading this book again after 20+ years thinking I knew it. Of course I didn't and he still had lots to teach, but I was amazed at the way he could use words to bring such a bleak world to life.