Genres: 

Philosophy

 

Personal Rating:

 

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Synopsis:

Sophie’s World unfolds through the eyes of Sophie Amundsen, a teenage girl living in Norway, and Alberto Knox, a middle-aged philosopher who introduces her to philosophical thinking and the history of philosophy.

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Personal Review:

Sophie’s World is a good introduction to the various schools of thought within philosophy. It offers good examples of the rationale behind each ideology and gives a brief summary of the minds behind these thoughts.

 

Genres: 

Dystopian Psychological Sci-fi

 

Personal Rating:

 

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Synopsis:

The novel is set in Oceania, a surveillance state which is ruled by the “Party” and its leader Big Brother. Citizens of Oceania are constantly monitored and anyone found to be in violation of the teachings of the Party is forcibly vanished — never to be heard of again. The story is told through the eyes of Winston Smith, a nondescript office worker, who becomes discontented with his everyday life and begins to actively rebel against the Party. Readers see through Winston the deplorable conditions that the people must go through each day under the Party’s leadership. There is barely enough food nor clothing to go around. And everyday is a struggle to survive.

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Personal Review:

1984 depicts the stark reality of living under a surveillance state. There is a thick sense of unease that is clearly felt throughout the novel, with Smith constantly being on guard, as he never knows who could be watching him at any given moment. He realizes that his actions are subversive to the state, and if he is caught he will certainly be vanished.

Interestingly, within this novel, there is no moral paragon to be found. All the characters have flaws in their nature, and even the main character is not exempt. Unlike most novels that would hold the MC up as the exemplar of justice, this novel paints a negative portrayal of his personality. This is most apparent when the novel looks back at his past and his behaviour as a child.

 

Genres: 

Politics Satire

 

Personal Rating:

 

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Synopsis:

Animal Farm tells the story of a group of anthromorphic animals overthrowing their farm owner, Mr. Jones, and setting up their own rules based on an ideology called “Animalism” which aims to improve the quality of life of all animals within the farm.

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Personal Review:

Animal Farm is a short and simple novel that showcases the failings of communism. Despite the ideal nature of communism which asserts that everyone is equal; in reality, without proper checks and balances within the government together with educated citizens who constantly scrutinize the laws, rampant corruption pervades the higher echelons of this society and leads to a degradation of all the basic tenets of the ideal — because equality is nowhere to be found in this society, and all power rests within the government’s hands.