Well known for a reason

1984 is one of those eponymous books that is probably known more for its setting than the actual story. It's the originator of the 'Big Brother' that we have all become familiar with. It's now used to refer to overbearing government schemes which shows just how pervasive this book is in modern society. Orwell was a proponent of writing in plain English without obfuscation and his literary style is obvious throughout. It's a very easy book to read but don't let that fool you into thinking it's for children. The book pretty much describes what it would perhaps be like to be living in North Korea these days - by which I mean living in a society cut off from the rest of the world with all information filtered through the government first. The book makes it very clear that the government tampers with all information given out to its citizens; in fact the book's protagonist Winston works at a government department that specialises in changing and erasing history.

The story is all about Winston's realisation that the Big Brother government is overbearing and he wishes to free himself from it. However he soon finds out he's not that easy and without giving away the end Orwell leaves us with the chilling quote, "If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."