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  • 1984

  • New Classic Edition
  • Written by: George Orwell
  • Narrated by: Simon Prebble
  • Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,652 ratings)

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1984 cover art

1984

Written by: George Orwell
Narrated by: Simon Prebble
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Publisher's Summary

Blackstone Publishing presents a new recording of this immensely popular book.

One of the most celebrated classics of the twentieth century, Orwell’s cautionary tale of a man trapped under the gaze of an authoritarian state feels more relevant now than ever before.

George Orwell depicts a gray, totalitarian world dominated by Big Brother and its vast network of agents, including the Thought Police, a world in which news is manufactured according to the authorities’ will and people live tepid lives by rote.

Winston Smith, the hero with no heroic qualities, longs only for truth and decency. But living in a social system in which privacy does not exist and where those with unorthodox ideas are brainwashed or put to death, he knows there is no hope for him. He knows even as he continues to pursue his forbidden love affair that eventually he will come to destruction.

The year 1984 has come and gone, yet George Orwell’s nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is still the great modern classic of negative Utopia. It is a prophetic and haunting tale that exposes the worst crimes imaginable: the destruction of freedom and truth.

©1949 Harcourt Brace and Company, renewed 1977 Sonia Brownell Orwell (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

What the critics say

  • Nominee, 2008 Audie Award, Classic

"It is probable that no other work of this generation has made us desire freedom more earnestly or loathe tyranny with such fullness." (New York Times, 1949)

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What listeners say about 1984

Average Customer Ratings
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A realistic depiction of a point of no return

I lived in a communist country for the first 15 years of my life. Much of what this book is about hit very close to home.

listening to this book ignited a baseline level of uneasiness about our global affairs, especially with the recent rise in extremisim in western politics. I think our current level of technology would be our greatest enemy if our governments were to follow in the footsteps of this book.

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17 people found this helpful

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Excellent Reader

I had a difficult time getting through this one. Such a hopeless tale! Simon Prebble makes it as enjoyable as possible, but this is not a "fun" book.

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12 people found this helpful

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George Orwell was clearly a time traveler.

his vision was both chillingly prophetic and hauntingly human. depending on where you live, this is a dystopia that already exists.

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10 people found this helpful

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Fiction becomes prophecy!

I struggled to finish this book because of the poignancy in relation to the new realities of 2021.
I found it disturbing that political power mongers had transformed this excellent cautionary tale . . . into an instruction manual.

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8 people found this helpful

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A great reading of a terrifying book

1984 drags sometimes, certainly moreso in the first half but the payoff is worth it. As an essay, it's very well done and scary!!!

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7 people found this helpful

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Prophecy

This book is a prophecy. We live in this society now. It's not coming, it's not around the corner, we're in it. This novel is horrifying, don't read it thinking "what if this happens", read it knowing it's happening.

I knew humanity was a fickle, nonsensical species but people are legitimatly arguing whether 2 + 2 = 5 now. Whatever horrors are bestowed upon us by the acceptance of socialist/commusim are deserved.

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6 people found this helpful

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Excellent

It appears Big Brother can control your thoughts. Brilliant story and part 3 was excellent

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Seriously good

Narration is on point in its tone and pace. Simon Prebble gives a serious treatment to the subject and it comes off wonderfully.

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4 people found this helpful

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Very informative and so realistic

Considering what's transpiring in my country today. Our government is using this book as a template to destroying our western democracy!! Very interesting book and considering when it was first published it's becoming a reality in todays leftist governments. Great writing. Great book!

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3 people found this helpful

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Simon Prebble rocks!

Prebble's a great orator and gives the audiobook great entertainment value. I will most definitely go back and re-listen.

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3 people found this helpful