1984 - George Orwell

Abstract Painting - Stephen Conroy

I quite like this as the front cover of "Nineteen Eighty-Four", it conveys the mood of the opening of the book - the greyness, hopelessness and isolation of the surroundings and Winston's life as it is first presented.

The book has not reminded me of any part of my life (yet), if it did I wouldn't be too pleased seeing as Winston is constantly under the watchful and alarming eye of the "moustachio'd Big Brother". Already  halfway through the first chapter we are presented with a totalitarian government, with "three-year-plans" referencing Stalin's totalitarian Russia. It paints a picture of an oppressed society with every aspect of life controlled down to people's thoughts, very reminiscent of "The Handmaid's Tale".

Reading

I'm a bit stuck for words for this blog but I'm going to try and be concise. I have chosen one novel - "Nineteen Eighty-Four" and I have not yet made up my mind about the play, due to the fact that I cannot access anything but Shakespeare at the moment. I am trying to read around "The Handmaid's Tale" and "A Streetcar Named Desire".