Written in the 1940s, Eric Blair''s (aka George Orwell''s) anti-untopian, anti-communist, anti-totalitarian love story,
1984, has the hero, Winston Smith, attempting to remain human in the inhumanly nightmarish society of post-revolutionary Oceania (Great Britain). Although the mood of the novel is generally bleak and hopeless, the personal struggles of Smith, and the potential triumph of love against all odds appeal to most readers, ages 16 or older.
Now in the 21st century, readers also discover the timely themes of Orwell''s novel, 1984. The Thought Police and Big Brother intrude into every aspect of citizens'' lives, making even the most private of thoughts a possible crime, in a society best summed up as " a boot stamping on a human face, forever." The government of Oceania is perpetually at war with one of the two other super states in the world of 1984. During a state of war, which is never ending in this world, citizens can be called upon to tolerate the most obscene abuses of humanity, as the government proceeds to dismantle the most basic social constructs of family and relationships, until only the needs of the state are effectively considered - above all else.
1984 offers insights into Smith''s conflicts in ways which have readers more carefully consider their personal and collective plights, as citizens of the world, as human beings struggling to remain individuals amidst the collective horror of commercialized globalization, and post 9/11 paranoia.