synopsis:

'1985 [book]' is an attempt at updating 1984 by george orwell, on the 30th anniversary of that seminal work. '1985' consists of two works combined. The first is a series of essays and self-interviews that form a devastating critique of . Orwell's 1984. The second half is a novella of Burgess titled '1985'. this is not a sequel, but a dystopia that takes place in 1985 (written in 1978) and is supposed to be a (more) possible scenario at the time. Burgess sees 1985 as a world dominated by trade unions and hyper-inflation, western liberal society and values crumbling before a militant and virile Islam. Western culture is sapped by a dumbing down of educational standards and a destruction of art and culture. All that is offered is in return is increasingly shoddy consumer goods and a despicable popular culture.

The main character, Bev is a former history teacher, who after his wife is burned to death, because fireman would not break a sympathy strike to quell a hospital fire, decides to rebel against the system. Like Winston Smith in 1984 his rebellion is doomed to failure, but the world is changing and the syndicalist future will collapse under its own weight.

After the novella is a short chapter on Worker's English ('WE') which is Burgess' version of orwell's Newspeak. WE itself however isn't used much in the story, and is really nothing more than a little slang.

Then Burgess finishes out the volume with another self-interview which discusses the possibility of his future. he states that like Orwell he did not take into account the basic commonsense and decency of the working man. This commonsense and decency which would not allow either nightmares to come to pass: he states that orwell did not see that at a certain moment the proles will not take it anymore and can not be oppressed as easily as orwell describes.

on this book:

Burgess's '1985' isn't a frightening or as well written as Orwell's 1984.several years have passed since '1985' first appeared, and the future is quite different. But our educational standards have been dumbed down, and our freedoms do face a threat from increasingly militant and fanatical fringe groups. A new totalitarianism is possible and indeed imminent so Anthony Burgess' final message, that we must not take for granted our physical and intelectual freedoms, is still very important.