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1984 in the 21st Century

by Lori Perkins
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buy ebook for $9.99buy printbook for $19.99

1984 is a classic novel whose relevance continues to confront us every day. Some people thought it was a book about the future of the past.

The future is now.

After the election of Donald Trump and his advisor, Kellyanne Conway’s suggestion we get used to using  "alternative facts,” the nearly 70 year-old dystopian novel made the # 1 spot on Amazon’s bestseller list.

1984 in the 21st Century offers readers 25 different opinions and viewpoints on this seminal novel from right to left on the political spectrum, with pieces from teachers to journalists and writers, lawyers and politicians, and union activists. The essays range from academic treatises to personal reminiscences to political rants and screeds, and even fiction and theater.

Essays by:

David Brin*Matt Bai*Melissa Febos*Joseph Sutton*Mike Siegel*Sean Fitzpatrick*Tim Hanley*UnitedStateofCinema*Jay Strongman

And Many More


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Diana Alvarez
9/5/2018

This was....interesting, I believe that everyone who read the OG 1984, so is very easy look the similarities with our real liv world, but this one is really good at show that part.


Kate Nelson
5/2/2018

Full disclosure: I’m an academic by former trade and deep at heart. I’m also a political junkie. I’ve spent the past 20+ years grappling with issues in local, state, and federal government and rarely shy away from a fruitful conversation. Reading this book was like having a series of discussions with various people of various perspectives all hinging on whether George Orwell’s masterpiece 1984 is apropos of our current administration. Some essayists argued that the real Big Brother happens under democrat administrations, where the common attack line is dems like big government and try to control what one eats, how much soda they drink, etc... Big Government then isn’t a far comparative leap to Big Brother. (Side note: there’s plenty of control by legislation on both sides). Some claimed Trump isn’t Orwellian as much as he is a distraction artist (side note: distractions is Orwellian as is was used to control). Other writers drew specific details out of current events to draw their comparisons. Orwell in 1984 coined the term “Doublespeak” to mean pay attention to what I say even though what I do may be very different. Here, the writer brought up Trump’s doublespeak when dealing with racial issues, an implied use of dog whistles and coded messages to draw attention elsewhere with the true meaning landing on its intended audience. One particular salient essay brought up the use of false facts as a method to distract (and thus control). One needn’t look too hard to remember Kelkeyann Conway’s regrettable use of “alternative facts.” In 1984 Orwell imagined “telescreens” in every home and how spot-on was that!? Now, Big Brother broadcasts its message directly to the people via state news channels. At least half of the population is being controlled by alternative facts. Another Orwellian theme explored is surveillance, and here the Facebook debacle would have been neatly explored, theft of personal data ultimately used for social control. Other examples amply given. From a purely academic pursuit, I really enjoyed this and could see it used as a part of a teaching tool in colleges and universities.

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I was 25 and re-reading 1984. The copy was a worn veteran of the used book business, purchased out of some 50 cent bin at one of those grocery stores along the back woods of Maine, where the ceilings seem dingy and dirty in the way a store that sells food shouldn’t. Corners of the soft cover were missing. The upper binding had been chewed by some animal; I imagined a ferret, odiferous in nature, sinking its needle teeth into this classic. Part of the allure of an old, cheap book is analyzing the abuse it has received, imagining all the love that went into the wear that gave its patina. Each page was crisp and browned under my fingertips, paper that would soon crack at the turn of a page. In my possession, the book had traveled from Maine to Connecticut, and we were now adrift on a briny sea.

Crossing the Long Island Sound between Orient Point and New London is far from treacherous. I’d spent a significant portion of my life traveling to and fro on these boats, having lived on Long Island my first 18 years. Sitting on top deck, I sniffed the air, smelling the combination of diesel soot spewed from the smokestacks that rumbled next to me and the salt spray mixing with the wind splashed up and over the railings. I held my fingers tight to keep the pages from fluttering, and my cold hands reddened against the gales.

Engrossed in the words of Orwell, the world faded away, dissolving into that grey dystopian future of England… until a youthful voice shook me out of my imagination. "That book changed my life.”






Copyright © 2017 Lori Perkins

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Lori Perkins

Lori Perkins is the editor/author of 25 erotic romance anthologies including the first zombie romance short story collection, HUNGRY FOR YOUR LOVE, as well as the anthology 50 WRITERS ON 50 SHADES OF GREY, which looks at the erotic romance phenom from 50 points of view,  She is the founder of the L. Perkins Literary Agency, and a former adjunct professor of journalism at NYU. She lives in New York City.

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