Julia
Sandra Newman
London, chief city of Airstrip One, the third most populous province of Oceana. It's 1984 and Julia Worthing works as a mechanic fixing the novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. Under the ideology of IngSoc and the rule of the Party and its leader Big Brother, Julia is a model citizen - cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing and caring not at all about politics. more
400 pages, Hardcover
First published Mariner Books
3.83
Rating
2528
Ratings
530
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Sandra Newman
17 books 450 followers
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As the clocks strike 13 once again, it’s time to venture back to Oceania and experience that dystopia with fresh eyes — or other eyes. That’s exactly what Sandra Newman does in her subversive new novel, “Julia. ”With the approval of the Orwell estate, it’s a retelling of “1984” from the perspective of Winston Smith’s lover. The effect of that single shift is uncanny: The world Julia describes is entirely familiar but subtly altered from the one Winston experiences. In addition to filling out the tragedy of Julia’s adolescence, Newman introduces several ingenious twists that let the plot proceed largely as expected but with curiously different implications. more
‘And who are you. I seem to have forgotten. ’‘I am Julia. ’‘Oh, yes. You betrayed me. more
Winston was more interested in 'Spanking Stories', of which she remembered only that there was spanking, some of which was done with a shoe Yep, that really is a genuine quotation from this book (location 1633 in my Kindle edition). Not just does it exemplify the 'lite' way in which this book re-writes Orwell's just-as-relevant-today 1984, but it showcases some of the clumsy writing (spanking stories contain. spanking) and an almost prurient interest in sex. Julia in the original does indeed have a wayward sensuality which is used to encode her propensity not to conform to the diktats of Big Brother but pushing this to the extreme as this book does (complete with descriptions of Winston's limp penis, lots of pseudo-daring mentions of masturbation, and their rather romance novel embraces (see quotations below) just cheapens the message of the original and makes this novel sound rather childish. The blurb states: 'Julia is a model citizen - cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing and caring not at all about politics' already highlighting quite a departure from Orwell's bleak vision where this kind of freedom to even be cynical about the totalitarian dictatorship has been obliterated and is another example of where this book doesn't live up to its predecessor, giving itself some wiggle room to be less grim and despairing. more
Update 10/24/23: Reposting my review to celebrate that today is publication day. All her life, Julia had obeyed the unwritten rules that kept her far from guilt. She had known who was safe, and felt an unfeigned disgust for unsafe people. Instinctively she’d loved the lucky and clever. If she ever took a risk, it wasn’t for fools. more
3 “it’s not you, it’s me” stars. I was really very intrigued by this authorized, feminist retelling of “1984”, but the honest truth is I just find dystopian literature upsetting & a real slog-fest these days due to the fact that we’re seemingly living in a pretty awful one ourselves. It's pretty true to the original and very well-written, which of course inspires just too much introspection from this particular rather world-weary reader…. more
Huh, the Orwell estate approved Sandra Newman to write a feminist retelling of 1984, so that sounds pretty interesting and I'm hopeful. more
Sandra Newman's Julia—a retelling of 1984 from the perspective of Winston's love interest who was never fully fleshed out in the original novel—sounded fascinating from the start. And it is fascinating. It's one of those turn-it-over-and-over-in-your-head-for-days-after-reading titles, and I've been turning it over, but now it's time to review before too much slips my mind. Rather than trying to write an "orderly" review, I want to point out some aspects of the book that I particularly appreciated. • First off, thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. more
These days this sort of book just isn't for the faint hearted. If you are reading this review though, I bet you will love it. The estate of George Orwell granted permission for this feminist retelling of 1984. Much of the setting is the same but our story is told through Julia, formerly only known by her first name and a foil to the story on Winston Smith. Sandra Newman however has painted a complex character in Julia - giving us the inside line on who she is, what she thinks and what drives her actions including the fated moment when she passes a note to Smith. more
The first thing to know about this novel is that the author gained the full support and blessing of the Orwell Estate to write this feminist retelling of 1984 from the perspective of Julia. Newman is faithful to the original, but also expands the original narrative in amazing, thoughtful, and satisfying ways. Expect more homage than pastiche. The writing is bright, crisp, and engaging. Where Orwell's 1984 appears black and white in its purposefully bleak depiction of state-enforced drudgery, Newman's 1984 seems to be in full color. more
12 % is a very small amount for wanting to give any idea about a book, but I really couldn't handle it anymore. I think the retelling of one of the best books of all time was a mistake, I had too many expectations, I compared it with George Orwell and found nothing alike, even the main character Julia. The plot did not remind me of 1984, the detail about the places was poor, and worst of all was the characters, even their appearance description was different, Julia wasn't one I used to know and honestly, I didn't want to continue reading and destroy her image. Thanks to Granta Publications for ARC via NetGalley, and apology for my harsh honest review. more
This felt like 1984 and handmaid's tale were put in a blender and the horror dial was set to an 11. Obviously, this book follows Julia and her life in Oceania. We revisit familiar characters, and of course Winston Smith, and other concepts that Orwell left us: 2+2=5, room 101, rewriting history, newspeak, telescreens, big brother, etc etc etc. and I wasn't sure if and how the world would be expended beyond that. And oh boy. more
"1984" foi e é um dos livros que mais me marcou, de tal forma que nos meus 26 anos de vida já o li 3 vezes (+1 adaptação gráfica). Ora, confesso que parti para esta leitura com algum receio. Afinal, para se mexer num livro da importância do escrito por George Orwell, era preciso saber-se o que se estava a fazer. Primeiro de tudo, gabo a coragem à autora por ter pegado num clássico da importância do "1984" e ter contado a mesma história de outro ponto de vista. Penso que é preciso uma boa dose de coragem, mas também de insanidade para alguém se atrever a pegar numa história tão emblemática como esta e dizer "e se eu contasse isto de outra perspectiva. more
"Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. "- Nineteen Eighty-Four. more
One had no choice, one must only live through it as if one had. more
Hyperbolic blurb reviews and the fact that I’m teaching the original at A level of course led me to preorder ‘Julia’ and read it as soon as I could. I’m disappointed. The potential was there to create a radical retelling with a genuinely 21st century feminist Julia. The thing that immediately put me off was the early use of the c- word and a fair bit of on-page sex. Yawn. more
I mostly enjoyed reading this, and found it interesting to view the dystopian world of 1984 through Julia's eyes. I had hoped it would be a more feminist retelling though, so am a bit disappointed as well. Thank you Granta and Netgalley UK for the ARC. more
A feminist retelling of George Orwell’s 1984. Colour me intrigued…. more
3. 5 starsAuthorised by the Orwell estate, Sandra Newman's Julia retells the story of 1984 from the perspective of Winston Smith's lover. A decidedly feminist companion novel, it attempts to fill the gaps and oversights of Orwell's original, whose narrator ". disliked nearly all women, and especially the young and pretty ones. It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies and nosers-out of unorthodoxy. more
Before I get into this review, a top tip for reading a book quickly: buy a copy to send to a friend for their birthday exactly a week before said birthday. Now you have a strict deadline for finishing it. This was my experience of Julia, although it's unlikely that without the time limit I would have lingered as it isn't exactly a fun read. I suspect the reader's experience will be significantly related to their memories of reading 1984. I do wonder what someone who hasn't read 1984 would make of it, and indeed what would encourage them to do so in the first place. more
When I received this book, which is a different take on 1984 from a woman's view point, I wondered what I would remember of Orwell's great book. I read it 65 years or so ago, watched the brilliant TV play starring Peter Cushing at about the same time and saw an excellent play based on the book a few years ago. It is a book which has entered the consciousness of the British with concepts such as Big Brother, Room 101 and Newspeak in regular useage. Sandra Newman has built on Orwell's idea and filled it out with lots of detail as she tells Julia Worthing's story, I was hooked early on and enjoyed the ride, despite the horror of Julia's imprisonment and interrogation. Another reviewer has remarked that this book ends with hope {in contrast to the original], I am not so sure that is the message I was left with. more
Having been intrigued and unsettled by George Orwell's "1984" since my high school and college days, I found Sandra Newman's "JULIA" a riveting, feminist retelling that breathes contemporary resonance into the classic dystopian narrative. The coined phrase, "Peace is Hate, Love is Hate," exemplifies societal constraints, mirroring 2023's real-world scenarios through a gender-focused lens. This modern iteration maintains the original's grim foresight while introducing a fresh narrative perspective. Newman's "JULIA" is not only a compelling read for those familiar with "1984," but also offers a unique intersection of classical dystopian themes with modern feminist discourse, making it a significant read in today's socio-political climate. So much so that, in some ways, it may even be more unsettling to read than Orwell's original. more
Even though I didn't read 1984 itself until 2021, I was indignant at Orwell's portrayal of Julia, and all of Winston Smith's very misogynistic views (it came as absolutely no surprise to me that Orwell himself was very much put off by the opposite sex, as we found out this year in Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible LifeWifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life). I know that Orwell himself once posed the question of separating the work from the artist (i. e. more
While this wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for I did appreciate the thoughtfulness of the story and the direct homage to one of my most loved stories. We revisit the relationship between Julia and Winston, all seen from Julia’s perspective. There were some chapters that completely captivated me but sadly they were outnumbered by the ones that made my eyes glaze over. It wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for and, for some reason, i was surprised by the exaggerated use of foul language. I know 1984 had it but this just felt like it was used too often and in the wrong way. more
A companion novel to 1984, this attempts to flesh out the Julia of the original. It throws you into the world, so if you haven’t read 1984 (and if you haven’t I don’t know why you’d pick this up) you’ll be lost. This isn’t the pithy prose of Orwell, and yet there was still a lot telling instead of showing as we see Julia navigate this authoritarian landscape. This is billed as a feminist retelling but Julia is just exploited over and over while she cares about absolutely nothing, and even when she has growth we see in the end that it doesn’t even matter. I struggled to understand Julia’s motivations. more
An unnecessary bookThis novel is supposed to give a female perspective on the dystopian reality of 1984 as seen by Julia, the lover of Winston Smith. In the first part of the novel, it does so. But it falls far short of 1984. There are no discussions of ideas as in the original. Most importantly, the Party is shown to be weak; the horror of 1984 was that there were no real opponents of the party and no chance of it losing power. more
Very good, especially Part three. That ending. Brilliantly done. The book expands the character of Julia from 1984, so her background, her childhood and family and her life in London. It expands the world of 1984 from the claustrophobic atmosphere of the original centred on Winston Smith and it mostly works well although for me the first section dragged but once they’re arrested and taken to Love it was almost impossible to put down. more
Julia by Sandra Newman is a brilliant and thought-provoking retelling of George Orwell's classic dystopian novel 1984. Newman takes us on a journey through the eyes of Julia, Winston Smith's lover, offering a unique and feminist perspective on the horrors of totalitarianism. Enjoy is probably the wrong word to use about a novel of this kind, especially one that takes us into the heart of Room 101. Newman has a strong writing style and I warmed to Julia as a character. She’s a survivor, fiercely independent and determined to live her life on her own terms, even in the face of overwhelming oppression. more
Doubleplusgood1984 is an absolutely brilliant novel, truly one of the best books ever written. But this one is even better. more
Knap geschreven; een feest van herkenning voor wie 1984 al goed kende. Tegelijkertijd een verrassend nieuw perspectief, ik had er niet bij stilgestaan hoe het vrouwelijke perspectief in het originele boek eigenlijk simpelweg ontbrak. Hier en daar ook net wat grappiger of juist gruwelijker dan 1984. Het einde verdeelt de critici; ik vond het wel een interessante aanvulling. more