I Liked 1984 As a Message But Hated It As a Book

I read 1984 like I was looking for a cold drink after walking through a desert, expecting a shot of tequila. Instead, I got a glass of warm, bitter whiskey.

Maybe that’s what George Orwell had in mind. And maybe he wanted to see how much a guy could sweat over the idea of a totalitarian regime, without ever feeling a drop of refreshment.

I liked the message. It was like a slap to the face. But the book? Ugh. That thing dragged me through the dirt and made me question my taste in literature. Seven points to sum it all up.

1. Orwell’s Message Is On Point – If You’re Into Dystopian Reality

1984 hits you in the gut with its message about surveillance, propaganda, and the absolute destruction of free will. Orwell paints a grim future where the state controls every ounce of thought, emotion, and action.

Big Brother’s watching, and guess what? He’s not only watching, he’s rewriting history so you can’t even believe your own memories.

It’s terrifying. Sure, it’s exaggerated, but if you look around, you see the seeds of it everywhere—governments manipulating truth, media twisting facts, the whole circus. Orwell’s warning? Spot on.

But that’s the thing: I liked the message. The whole Big Brother thing? Love the metaphor. It’s clear, it’s sharp, and it cuts deep. It’s the kind of slap you need if you’ve been snoozing on the couch of complacency for too long. But the book itself? Well, that’s a different animal.

2. Character Development? What’s That?

I don’t know if Winston Smith, the protagonist, was supposed to be a hero, an antihero, or just some dude Orwell threw in to show how miserable a person could be under an oppressive regime.

But the guy has all the charm of a wet sock. Seriously. He’s not relatable. He’s not even particularly interesting.

He’s just… there. Walking around, wondering if he should stick with the Party or run away with Julia.

But then again, why should I care about his inner turmoil when Orwell’s spent most of the novel giving me a history lesson on the mechanics of totalitarianism?

You want to root for the guy? Good luck. You’ll be too busy trying to figure out how to stay awake.

3. The Writing Is An Exercise in Patience

Orwell wrote 1984 like he was paid by the word. It’s like watching someone carefully sandpaper a piece of wood for hours, and then telling you they’ve just finished their work.

The book drags. It’s sluggish. It’s like reading a laundry list of the evils of oppression—one which, if you already know what the evils are, you don’t need to hear in excruciating detail.

Every page felt like a slow, mind-numbing ride into oblivion. The language is dense, clinical, and lacks the visceral punch that could have made the book alive instead of a depressing history lecture.

It made me want to claw my own eyes out. It didn’t need to be that long. Could have been a short story. Or a pamphlet.

4. No Humor, No Heart

Now, you could say, “Well, it’s a dystopian novel, it’s not supposed to be funny.” Sure, sure, but that’s no excuse for making it a total mood killer.

There’s no humanity in 1984. It’s like Orwell said, “Let’s take the fun out of life and slap it on the page.” You want to feel some kind of warmth, some glimmer of hope?

Good luck with that. 1984 doesn’t want you to feel good. It’s a slow-motion car wreck. Sure, it’s hard-hitting, but you’ll be emotionally drained long before the end.

5. Big Brother Is Watching, But I’m Not

The Party might be controlling everything, but I swear, Orwell controls nothing in this book. There’s no buildup. No payoff. Just a sense of inevitability that makes you wish for the sweet release of death by the time you get to the end.

I get it, Orwell’s trying to show how totalitarianism crushes everything, even the will to dream. But did he have to crush me in the process?

I’d rather watch an entire season of reality TV, with all its commercial breaks and loud, obnoxious people, than plow through 1984 again.

6. Unnecessary Detail: A Whole Lot of Boring Stuff

Listen, Orwell spends way too much time describing things I just don’t care about. I don’t need to know the exact layout of the Ministry of Truth.

I don’t care how many rats Winston has to stare at to get over his biggest fear. I wanted to know about Winston’s soul. Where’s the soul of the story? Where’s the raw, uncomfortable human drama that makes you want to throw the book across the room?

It’s like Orwell thought if he explained the workings of the dystopian world long enough, it’d somehow make it more impactful. But guess what? It didn’t.

7. The Ending – Ugh, Really?

I’m not gonna spoil it, but if you thought the ending was a “twist,” you were wrong.

The ending is like when the band finally finishes a song that’s been dragging on for way too long and then just decides, “Yeah, let’s finish it with a weak riff.” You feel empty, confused, and a little cheated.

I was hoping for some kind of revelation or catharsis, but all I got was a shove into the abyss.

Summary Table:

Point	Likes (Message)	Dislikes (Book)
Message	Powerful, chilling, and relevant.	N/A
Characters	Winston’s journey is important, if not compelling.	Flat, one-dimensional, uninspiring.
Writing Style	Orwell’s ideas are important.	Clunky, slow, overly detailed.
Humor/Heart	N/A (there’s no place for it).	Emotionally draining, no warmth.
Pacing/Interest	Dystopian warnings stick with you.	Boring, long-winded.
Setting & World-building	Thought-provoking in a bleak way.	Over-explained, dull.
Ending	The bleak truth.	Unremarkable, disappointing.

Orwell’s warning about the totalitarian future? It’s a gut punch. It’s relevant. It’s something everyone should pay attention to. But this book?

This book makes you wish someone would just knock you out so you don’t have to finish it. It’s like a long, drawn-out fight with no winner. If you want the message, fine—grab a quote from the book and move on.

But don’t expect to be entertained, or even to feel anything other than exhaustion. It’s the literary equivalent of someone dragging their nails across a chalkboard for hours, all while telling you how great the sound is.

So yeah, I liked the message. But the book? Maybe we should’ve just left it as a pamphlet.