• 1984

  • New Classic Edition
  • By: George Orwell
  • Narrated by: Simon Prebble
  • Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (56,069 ratings)

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1984  By  cover art

1984

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.

Critic reviews

  • 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

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Incredible story.

Really a good story. I read it back in the 80's mandatory for school it was o.k. I recommend anybody with any interest in todays political shenanigans to give it a listen. If this is mandatory now I think it will be viewed very differently.

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amazing book, amazing performance

such a classic as 1984 is only enhanced by a good reading, such as this

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SCARY RELEVANT

This book is severely reminiscent of current political games. language being altered, freedoms being threatened or removed, people becoming mindless drones parroting social justice just WAITING to turn someone in....could a future (I'm aware it's set in roughly 1948 lol) such as this really become reality?

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Scary

This book is so prophetic since it seems we are heading this direction in many ways. Very scary.

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#make1984fictionagain

Amazing story, terrifying similarities to our country. One of the greatest books written and a must read for everyone!

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This could be today

It is very scary seeing how close this is to reality. There is way too many similarities.
At the heart of 1984 it is a love story, a love story crossed with A Clockwork Orange that is set it a fascist police state. Just agree with me because you don’t want to be taken to room 101.
Winston is trying hard to just get along and behave so the Thought Police don’t make him disappear, but he works in an area that rewrites history, making it look like the government was right, always has been right and there is no proof otherwise. If you try to say you remember differently then you disappear. If you disappear then you never existed, and no one is able to say otherwise or else. This is a society where children are encouraged to turn in their parents for talking against the government and your television is two way, so the government can listen and watch you. Sex is not for pleasure but only to help bring more people into the society. Your only motivation should be to work hard.
This is so well written, you cannot help but feel oppressed, worthless, and dirty. But, you feel better than you did yesterday because Big Brother tells you that you feel better.

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A chilling literary classic.

One of the all-time prophetic novels. It would be a thoughtcrime to not read it.

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The Right Note

A timeless classic... performed exceptionally. Prebble's delivery captures the mundane indoctrination while imbuing emotion to Smith's revelations.

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Ominous, compelling, and harbinger of totalitarianism. .

Simon Prebble is consummate narrator of Orwell’s 1984. He should get an Emmy.
In summation, the quintessential novel expose of mind control. Must read for all. “1984 is the reason Orwellian has become eponymous for Communism/Marxism. George Orwell’s tome profiles Stalin’s USSR Communist regime. And a harrowing reminder of the consequences of individual freedom vs. government autocracy.

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Wonderful Narration Made this Classic Even Better

Orwell is a master of clean, concise writing. Until he gets to the section of the book where the brotherhood's book is being read aloud, at least. That part gets a little boggy and repetitive. However, Simon Prebble's outstanding narration makes even the most tedious parts come alive.

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