Member Reviews
"1984" holds a special place among my favorite stories, and the graphic novel adaptation certainly lived up to my expectations.
The artwork is strikingly bold, characterized by stark black and white tones with occasional red accents that intensify the gravity and complexity of the narrative.
I particularly appreciated the depiction of all the characters, finding their portrayals to be exceptionally well-executed. In my opinion, this graphic novel adaptation couldn't have been done any better.
Unlike some graphic novels that can be swiftly consumed, this rendition demands a deliberate approach.
It requires readers to invest time in examining and appreciating the intricate artwork, which seamlessly intertwines with the story itself.
I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone fond of "1984" and intrigued by the idea of experiencing it in a graphic novel format. This is a piece I would gladly own and proudly display.
I am thrilled to have had the chance to review 1984 in graphic novel format. The illustration style is interesting and consistent throughout, and the graphic novel delivers the vast majority of the text of 1984 in a faithful rendition.
I teach a unit on 1984 as part of my senior students' English class of Expository Reading and Writing, and after reviewing my ARC copy, I purchased the hardcover and introduced the graphic novel to my students as a way to augment their reading of the original novel. They have found it informative and helpful so far, which I count as a win. I love that this graphic novel format is allowing a new generation of students, who are much more visually oriented than previous generations, to access this powerful and still relevant literary work.
1984 is one of those books that is always on those long lists of books you 'should' read. I listened to the audiobook last year and while I appreciated the ingenuity and cultural impact, the audiobook itself had me bored to tears. So when I saw this graphic novel version I said I'd give it another try and I enjoyed it so much more!
The artwork is a made up of bold black and white striking images with some occasional red splashed in for effect. The stark nature of the graphics really portray the overwhelming bleakness and oppressive nature of the story.
While not having as much text as the novel itself the key story is really well detailed and conveyed so well through the combinations of quotes and drawings. In fact on some occasions a lot more can be taken from scenes which were drawn compared to the novel itself. Towards the end there is larger sections of text which also help to ensure the overall message is carried across.
A dark, claustrophobic interpretation of a classic which will be sure to captivate existing fans and reluctant new readers.
I did not love this book. To be honest i trudged through it. The art was really lovely but the story itself just didn't convert well to graphic novel. It felt lacking at points and way too over explanatory in other parts. While I know it is an old story, I do think it is one that is timley... but it just did not work for me.
This was a very well done reworking of a great book. I enjoyed the visual element, and I really liked reliving the story with the visuals added. However, I do think this would be confusing for someone who hadn’t read the original. It’s a great companion, whereas a lot of new graphic novels are an “easier” read for the classics.
I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.
Thank you Netgalley for this graphic novel ARC of George Orwell's 1984.
I remember being blown away by 1984 twenty years ago as a college student. Like so many people, I asked myself if this was a possibility, could our thoughts be policed? Could free thinking end as we know it someday? I doubt that this is a question that will ever stopped being asked.
But more than just a philosophical question, 1984 is also a great story, so I was excited to get a chance to read it's graphic novel. I've read a few graphic rewrites of some of the classics, and it's always so fun to see how the artist translates the story into pictures. It's also a difficult thing to judge, because we all see things so differently, and art is subjective.
Even already knowing the story, this took me a second to get the hang of. The pictures are a bit rough, the font is small and my eyes are old. But once the story picked up, and I got the rhythm of the type and pictures, I really got into it. The artist truly did a good job depicting a bleak outline of this dystopian reality. It would also work as a great way to introduce this story to the upcoming generation.
1984 remains to this day, one of my favourite classics of all time. It's rare for me to truly enjoy classic works but there is something about 1984 that has stayed with me since I first read the original by George Orwell. Perhaps it is how much of it resonates in a world like that of today's society, how scary the mirror images could be if we looked too deeply for them, and how eerily accurate a man from the early 1900s could be. With that in mind, I believe it is the perfect book to be adapted into a graphic novel format. It's gritty and dark and contains vivid imagery descriptions throughout. Visually seeing things such as the Two Minutes Hate and how Winston sees the other characters really displays the darkness in this book, and I think the artwork does an excellent job of showing that in this adaption. However, I feel like this would be more of a companion to the original rather than a direct replacement. The original I think is just so classic that it needs to be read, but this would be an excellent "stand alongside" instead of a "stand instead of" book for any reader new to the story.
Great read for students who are reading the novel and need help deciphering or imagining the world. Seems a bit like real life right now.
A wonderful imagining of one of the seminal books on any reader's lists. The art style perfectly aligns with the central themes and direction of 1984 and, in bringing it alive in illustrations, even adds to the depth this story offers to anyone coming across it. Even as someone who has read 1984 before, this graphic novel undoubtedly adds to the impact of Orwell's original.
I finally gave up on this after several months. The combination of its bleakness, repetitiveness and hopelessness turned this into a slog. I felt like one of the characters in the novel reading this and that was just too much for me. I think this may only work as a companion piece to the novel and not as a work of its own.
Really liked this book, the adaptation to GN is very accurate and will recommend it to friends and students alike.
Matyáš Namai did some amazing work in this retelling of 1984. I loved the style and obvious effort this took.
This is a brilliant way for a new reader to get into Orwell's classic tale and is just as dramatic as it should be. I love 1984 and have read it many times before but this is a new way of seeing it and is really beautifully done. I'll definitely recommend it to students who like graphic novels.
This was a great version of this story. It has highly relevant themes that relate today in a classic novel. I reccomend it for high school studnets.
I started this, but the art style really turned me off. I know it is a dystopia and it is supposed to be somewhat depressing, but I just felt no motivation to keep plugging away at it. I skimmed through the rest to see what the content was like.
Notes on content (based on flipping through): I didn't notice any swearing in what I read or what I flipped through (but I was going pretty fast). There was a scene with a naked man and woman in bed together, and then the woman walks around the room (only her butt shown). There was a torture scene it looked like later on.
<i>I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>
This is an excellent graphic novel based on George Orwell's 1984. For those who have not read the book, I suggest going and reading the original then picking up Matyáš Namai's brilliant interpretation.
The images are stark black and white with flashes of red used sparingly to draw attention. T
I really appreciated the graphic novel take on this classic! I think it makes it more accessible and approachable to younger readers while garnering interest of those who may have read it before.
Part of our curriculum focuses on 1984 at KS3. Some students struggle with the novel so this is a perfect companion. I think a lot of students will enjoy this.
I didn’t really enjoy the art or layout of this graphic novel. It made the story a bit difficult to follow.
1984: The Graphic Novel is another graphic novel adaptation of George Orwell's 1949 classic.
The adaptation is done quite well. It's a text-heavy graphic novel, with pages and pages of the book-within-a-book placed straight on the pages, with illustrations in the margins. Even these pages, which are three-quarters text, have great illustrations. The rest of the graphic novel is superbly illustrated. There are multiple pages of sheer brilliance, and even the pages that lack the most are still well done.
The adaptation does start a bit slow, but so does the novel itself, but once things get rolling, between the plot that Orwell laid out and the art Namai added, I couldn't stop myself.
Fantastic adaptation.