Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell

When I look back I'm sometimes amazed at how few of the "classics" I actually read whilst I was at school. I'm certainly trying to make up for that now though and make an effort to pick up such books when ever I see them going cheap in charity shops. They're not all the easiest reads, but I do feel a sense of achievement when finishing them and also feel that my reading repertoire is expanding and maturing.

One book that I am somewhat amazed that slipped through the net is George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four. When you think about how many things from this book have made it into general usage it's somewhat staggering, although I do wonder just how many teenage Big Brother fans actually know where the term comes from.

I've read and enjoyed a couple of other Orwell books before and found the general style well flowing and a relatively easy read. Nineteen eighty-four was going along in the same way until Winston starts reading Goldstein's book. At that stage I have to say that it almost lost me through sheer boredom. I did persevere to the end, but it became a bit of a slog from there on. Once the book quotes were over things did pick up again, but the shine had gone at that point.

These may be literary classics, but I'm not sure I can like all of them. Is that so bad?