Can 1984 be improved? Julia by Sandra Newman 

No, the book is garbage. and there is nothing street smart about julia. If there was she wouldn't have been doing what she was doing and wouldn't have gotten herself into a situation where she was so easily caught

I want to read Julia, but feel like I need to reread 1984 and I did not enjoy 1984. Strangely, Orwell’s flat style numbs my brain. I think it’s because I knew too much about 1984 when I read it and dystopian literature really isn’t my thing. As a result for me it had a story I vaguely knew, was a genre I didn’t like, and writing that I didn’t find interesting.

One of the aspects of "Julia" that I liked was the portrayal of system fallibility and how things can sometimes not go as planned. In "1984" the Party was this awful, super-effective totalitarian regime that seemed to have control of every little aspect of society. In Newman's book, this isn't the case. Take, for example, the dreaded Room 101.The "101" process is seen to be time restricted and hurried, which I imagine would be the case when so many people are being interrogated, and Julia has a kind of triumph in there, in contrast to Winston's total defeat. However, I'm not entirely sure about the ending, and wonder if the book should have finished when Julia was discharged from the Ministry of Love, rather than continuing.

I’m almost finished with 1984, had a flick through the pages of Julia at waterstones today but didn’t really like the writing style… it feels a bit immature. A shame because I feel like Julia could’ve been done much more succinctly and less brazenly obvious as a conterargument to how Orwell wrote her. I never like how Julia was written or treated in the original but I just don’t rly know if this new rendition is written very well…

Great review! I just finished Julia today and was shaken by it. I also felt it improved upon 1984. I read that one a few years ago, but want to go back now and give it another look.

My copy of Julia was just delivered today. I bought a new copy of 1984 as well, which I will read again first.

Sounds well worth reading. I'll have to reread '1984' first, though. It's been years since I read it, and I'll need a refresher.

Parts 1 and 2 of the book are a masterpiece on par with the original. Part 3 left me like WTF is this shit?

i wouldn't say improve. It's a woman's point of view.

Shakespeare is commonly studied in high schools, so that isn't a point for 1984 being simply written. I studied 1984 alongside Julius Caesar back in 1982/3. That said, I really enjoyed Julia, and am re-reading 1984 now too - it really does add to the original text. The only quibble I have is the ending, which while enjoyable, does somewhat detract from the point of 1984. I'm not certain it needed a hopeful ending tbh - it could have ended leaving things open, for the reader to decide, without being a lesser book.

I'm in the middle of this book right now and thoroughly enjoying it. Stopping at the spoilers but I agree with your overall evaluation.

Julia avoids the two most 'difficult' parts of 1984: the lengthy passage from Goldstein's book read aloud to her by Winston which she slept through, and the long sections of discussion/interrogation between Smith and O'Brien. This section can be read as a discussion on philosophy (eg: the nature of truth and reality) between a highly intelligent man, O'Brien, and a fairly stupid man, Smith. The omission of these sections by Newman makes the book easier to read and understand than 1984. It makes the story more closely follow the narrative that most people think 1984 is about: the evils of totalitarianism etc. But Orwell's book is about more than that. For instance, O'Brien refers to 'solipsism'. I suspect most readers just skip over that. But if it's not Important, why is it there? I enjoyed Julia, but contend she has turned 1984 into a much simpler story. Many readers will appreciate that, I have some misgivings.

Julia a Novel is very good! Well done Sandra N

This sounds quite interesting! It's been awhile since I've read 1984, so I'd probably want to read that again before this. I hadn't heard of this book yet, but it's now on my TBR!

I preferred the writing style of newman's julia its gripping and faster paced for more inclusive audience. I did struggle reading Orwell book and found it slow in the middle mainly due to it being written over 70 years ago. Don't get me wrong i found the original a visionary masterpiece but this new book answers so many questions

Never use a word when using none will do.

A woman writes more flowery. Shocking

No

Not a fan of retellings full stop. It just seems to lack originality. I'd rather women told new stories.

hope to return sooner rather than later.

I have just finished this book and really enjoyed it. Thank you for reviewing it.

I lately re-read 1984 and had my eye on this novel. So now I think I'll give it a go, because I really wasn't happy about the misogyny in the original.

I stopped watching at the spoilers, but this sounds excellent!! I actually never had to read 1984 for school and so I've always been curious and meaning to read it at some point. Sounds like whenever I do get to it, I would enjoy pairing it with Julia.

The publisher who is nearest at hand to me says among the many authors in her submission box, male writers - almost to man - tend to err on the side of utilitarian style with fewer descriptions and a keen eye for plot whereas female writers tend to lean a bit more toward description and a keen eye for character (not sure how that will change as non-binary voices become more prevalent). Might that phenomenon be consistent between writers here?

Thanks for that! Really want to read it but feel like I have to reread 1984 first which was really interesting intellectually but not so much emotionally.

Sounds like an interesting book! I need to reread 1984 then pick this one.

I have just read 1984 and Julia is on my Feb tbr. Excited now. Thanks Scott

This is very good !! I’ve done the Audible version

Pretty much exactly my take on the book.

Looking forward to reading this but it’s been a couple decades since I read 1984, so want to do that again first & don’t know if it’s best to read em back to back or give ‘em room to breathe individually and put some time between ( but not 2 decades). Blahdiggityblah 📖🪱💚