George Orwell’s 1984: An Audible Original adaptation

I absolutely love this audiobook! The performance is amazing and the storyline is very interesting! I never thought I would be so intrigued in a book!

The new (2024) Audible adaptation of George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 is a worthy listen for both those who have read the novel and those who have yet to experience the most powerful and predictive novel of our time.For listeners new and old to 1984, there is much to recommend it. Unlike a dry reading, this is a full-on audio drama complete with a huge cast, excellent modernized soundtrack, and superb sound effects that place the listener directly into the locations. Whether it be a cafeteria, the countryside, or on a train, the soundscape alone provides the cues. The story generally follows the novel, but makes concessions to accommodate the uninitiated, making sure the story and character motivations are clear.The spoiler-free story summary involves Winston Smith, a corrector of news and history for the Ministry of Truth, provides political propaganda for the single political Party of Oceania (England), which is under the domination of Big Brother. Spying telecreens and Thought Police monitor the citizens to maintain total control, but Winston entertains thoughts of rebellion in the midst of his love affair with Julia. It's the ultimate totalitarian nightmare, complete with overt surveillance, a single, controlled news broadcast, and a population conditioned to accept brainwashing without question.Some purists might balk at the liberties taken with this adaptation, though others will accept that an update was needed. Some of the swear words are anachronistic, the love scenes more explicit (for audio), and some formerly male characters change gender to provide more female roles (Syme and the Parson's children). Julia, the primary female lead, is given a surname (Bellow), proudly proclaims her intelligence, and is in control of her and Winston's relationship. Two additions to the story from the last 1984 film are the desire by the Party to eliminate all sexual relations, as well as that Winston's fear of rats stems from the implication that his mother and sister we eaten by them. Another added item stems from the recent feminist sequel novel JULIA, which turns Big Brother into an actual person rather than just an image on a screen or poster. All of this paves the way for a future movie version that can stray from the novel for the benefit of the viewer.Without giving away the ending, the audio drama remains horrifying. O'Brien, with a disturbingly Christopher Walken accent, intensifies an already unnerving torture sequence in Room 101, and even takes over narration at one point, leaving the listener with no illusions about who is in control.The only complaint to be made about this version regards the loss of the dry, yet important portion of Goldstein's book that Winston reads which details how control was achieved and why the Party did so. In the novel, Orwell provides a striking blueprint for creating an unbreakable totalitarian regime that some politicians are taking seriously and employing in the real world currently. Also left out is the once satirical reason as to why the Party took control; they seek power for the sake of satisfying their sadistic nature - the enjoyment of such cruelty to others IS the point. Our once trusted leaders are no longer hiding their lust for power or their truly inhuman desire to hurt others for their pleasure.The audio adaptation should not be a replacement for the novel - if you enjoy the audio, read the book, and if you enjoyed the book, listen to the audio.BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU

This was a nice addition to the1984 storytelling and content universe. You get easily drawn in and you are kept interested even if you have read the book before. Its professional made audio theatre (like it used to be back in the 1930s radio) with high quality producers, narrators and actors.Most likely it was a bit expensive to produce as the credited cast is high end, and the foley artists sounded like they got a blank check to work under since the background- and storytelling sounds is very natural sounding, crisp, clear and in perfect balanced with the narrators.Recommended. In my opinion its better than the movie because the audio drama production is so good that you do see it like a movie in your head.(if you have a Audible subscription you get it included without using any credits).

This was incredible audio—better than the movie. It drew me right in. Captivating!

I loved listening to this audio book. An ad from YouTube had me download it. And now I think it has set the bar high for audio books! But I loved it. The story is well told, the acting superb, an overall great experience. Even though it’s not my genre, I’m looking forward to listening to more from the “audible original” category.

I personally could not listen to it. It was too depressing.

I'll admit a good portion went over my head, it's not my chosen genre, but I did enjoy the story. From what I gathered, I found similaritites to Minority Report. At the root this is a story of being stuck in a dystopian world that you cannot speak out against for fear of death as a punishment. Andrew Garfield was a great choice and clearly gives his all regardless of the project. I think I'll listen to this again and get more of the meat.

This book is so applicable to today. One of THE BEST Audiobooks I've listened to in my life. You are IN the story, IN the moment. Andrew Garfield, YES. But Andrew Scott, when he enters the story, changes the tone. Pulls you and tosses you down the rabbit hole. You spin in your mind, you're feeling every electrical pulse delivered, and become the unstable Winston, twisted and contorted. Pay head to the past to prevent this future. 1984.