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I got some books today
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2017-12-09 at 4:51 AM UTC
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2017-12-09 at 5:07 AM UTC
Originally posted by Open Your Mind What don't you like about the writing? What wasn't fair about how it presented the idea?
I was guessing at Lanny's reasons, they aren't my reasons. I like Animal Farm. At worst, I think it's an insight into the perception of communism from the outside, at the time, and from someone who actually had a brain. -
2017-12-09 at 5:23 AM UTCOrwell is a really really dull writer.
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2017-12-09 at 6:26 AM UTC
Originally posted by Captain Falcon I'd guess the fact that it doesn't fairly represent the idea it's attacking, plus the writing itself.
Yeah, this. I mean to be fair Orwell was writing fiction. Politically charged fiction sure, but it's really only in interpretation by edgy teenagers that it's taken to be an actual political argument that's somehow applicable to the real world. As literature it's very long winded in setting up its world, like way more time on exposition than there was any reason for, especially since Orwell is one of those writers with a massive hardon for direct writing. "Book in a book" is almost always a shitty trope (see Borges for how it's supposed to be done) and Orwell did it worse than most in 1984. His main character is both a literal and figurative cuck who's only quality to endear himself to readers is how much everyone and everything shits on him.
Animal Farm's barnyard animals are literally more human characters than the cast of 1984. I actually think Orwell's nonfiction has its charm, Shooting an Elephant really impressed me when I read it. It's just that his most popular novel is an absolute trainwreck.The following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire! -
2017-12-09 at 6:28 AM UTCJust realized that Lanny thanked me and then I thanked him on the same subject, making this a circlejerk gay 69 of sorts, so I feel obliged to say "no homo"
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2017-12-09 at 8:08 AM UTCyes homo, look into my eyes while I thank you off baby
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2017-12-09 at 8:27 AM UTCDoes anybody have any alt history suggestions beyond turtledove?
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2017-12-09 at 1:51 PM UTC
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2017-12-09 at 1:54 PM UTC
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2017-12-09 at 3:34 PM UTC
Originally posted by Lanny Yeah, this. I mean to be fair Orwell was writing fiction. Politically charged fiction sure, but it's really only in interpretation by edgy teenagers that it's taken to be an actual political argument that's somehow applicable to the real world. As literature it's very long winded in setting up its world, like way more time on exposition than there was any reason for, especially since Orwell is one of those writers with a massive hardon for direct writing. "Book in a book" is almost always a shitty trope (see Borges for how it's supposed to be done) and Orwell did it worse than most in 1984. His main character is both a literal and figurative cuck who's only quality to endear himself to readers is how much everyone and everything shits on him.
Animal Farm's barnyard animals are literally more human characters than the cast of 1984. I actually think Orwell's nonfiction has its charm, Shooting an Elephant really impressed me when I read it. It's just that his most popular novel is an absolute trainwreck.
What's shooting an elephant about? -
2017-12-09 at 3:40 PM UTCThe following users say it would be alright if the author of this post didn't die in a fire!
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2017-12-09 at 3:49 PM UTCShooting them up with H.
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2017-12-09 at 4:04 PM UTC
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2017-12-09 at 4:18 PM UTCShooting them up with Heroin.
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2017-12-09 at 4:21 PM UTC
Originally posted by Captain Falcon The Peshawar Lancers by S.M. Stirling was decent. Don't expect too much from it but it was decent.
Meh. Sounds more apocalyptic than alt-hitory. I just finished War in the Balance by Turtledove (finally) which is about aliens invading earth during WWII. You get to see history change course as the Russians and Germans stop fighting and humanity begins understanding alien technology. There's three books and the third one is in the 60's. I believe the Nazis simply stop invading, develop their small state, and life continues on. It's not a 'nazi victory' thing. Aliens are still there but they're living amongst the humans.
I like that kinda thang. But I guess there's none of it so I'll just buy more turtledove -
2017-12-09 at 7:32 PM UTC
Originally posted by Open Your Mind What's shooting an elephant about?
British colonial policeman in Burma shoots an elephant. You can find it online, it's only a couple of pages. There's really nothing to the plot but it's a really interesting vignette of colonialism. The standard reading is that Orwell is trying to show how colonizers are demeaned by their status as well as the colonized. -
2017-12-10 at 6:05 PM UTC
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2017-12-10 at 6:07 PM UTCAnna Karenina
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2017-12-17 at 7:06 PM UTC
Originally posted by 哈哈你看不懂中文 Orwell is a really really dull writer.
Originally posted by infinityshock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doublethink
thanks to finny i finally remember why i always thot his writings were eyes opening when i first read them in 1999 or 2000 in ways i could not articulate.
not many writers explain things like this ... but then i dont read a lot. -
2017-12-17 at 9:30 PM UTCNewspeak and doublethink were eye opening to you?
