1984
1984 by George Orwellby George Orwell
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 8 dystopian novels
People recommend it as a prescient, gripping classic about propaganda and power, and say it still speaks to the present. Critics find the opening slow and the plot thin.
People recommend it as a prescient, gripping classic about propaganda and power, and say it still speaks to the present. Critics find the opening slow and the plot thin.
50 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 42
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 84%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 42 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Essential classic everyone should read
“1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm should be required reading.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “George Orwell Predicted the Rise of "AI Slop" in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)” “IMO everyone should read it once, alongside with 1984.”
Comment from 11 Dec 2025 in “If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?” “Of course 1984 and Animal Farm are the best”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Why I Write (1946)” - Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “The UK is shaping a future of Precrime and dissent management”
- Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “Spotlighting the World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell”
Prescient about propaganda and surveillance
“I think our current world proves that being watched by humans hits people in a way that being monitored by computers doesn't.”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Purging George Orwell's books misses what drives the political right” “1984 was surprisingly prescient about automatically generated propaganda”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Why I Write (1946)” “just as prescient as "Brave New World" and "1984"”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Artificial egg hatched 26 healthy chickens” Still relevant today
“which made for good speculative fiction in the 50’s (and also does now)”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Purging George Orwell's books misses what drives the political right” “1984 in particular is well worth a read right now”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “What Gets Kept” “Very interesting and so actual.”
Comment from 7 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” - Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)”
Gripping, well written, easy to read
“I have only had animal farm and 1984 hook me up to a book so much.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Living Human Brain Cells Play Doom on a CL1” “The writing is beautiful and the story is gripping.”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Artificial egg hatched 26 healthy chickens” “fun and easy reads that have meat on the bone”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “The Age of Reading Is Over”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Slow, boring opening
“It took me three tries to finish 1984 because the beginning is such a slog.”
Comment from 14 Dec 2025 in “Kids Rarely Read Whole Books Anymore. Even in English Class” “1984 was just boring and lifeless rant where nothing happens”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Purging George Orwell's books misses what drives the political right” Shallow plot and thin story
“the actual plot was pretty bad imho”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “London Underground begins scanning passengers' faces” “a fairly shallow bad government bad story that it's such a cultural icon everywhere”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Purging George Orwell's books misses what drives the political right” Writing seen as weak or obvious
“Orwell's attacks are so pedestrianly obvious”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)” “Orwell was an important author sure, but not particularly a good one.”
Comment from 21 Mar 2026 in “Books of the Century by Le Monde”
Other dystopian novels people recommend
The four most recommended other dystopian novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984by George OrwellThis page | 42 | 8 | 84% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Roadby Cormac McCarthy | 27 | 2 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Nineteen Eighty-Fourby George Orwell | 24 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Weby Евгений Иванович Замятин | 11 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret Atwood | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
37 of the 51 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“May I suggest 1984 for some fantastic examples of this?”
“where the underlying message is about hope and our humanity”
“would consider it rather tame compared to modern fiction”
“Buten showed me how to improve myself, and Orwell how to improve the world”
“My opinion of 1984 also dropped when I reread it.”
“the actual plot was pretty bad imho”
“I think our current world proves that being watched by humans hits people in a way that being monitored by computers doesn't.”
“which made for good speculative fiction in the 50’s (and also does now)”
“1984 was praised by people like Bertrand Russell”
“a fairly shallow bad government bad story that it's such a cultural icon everywhere”
“1984 was just boring and lifeless rant where nothing happens”
“fun and easy reads that have meat on the bone”
“Reminds me of 1984, not the book itself”
“1984 in particular is well worth a read right now”
“1984 presents something much stranger and more interesting than communism”
“The writing is beautiful and the story is gripping.”
“just as prescient as "Brave New World" and "1984"”
“1984 was surprisingly prescient about automatically generated propaganda”
“Of course 1984 and Animal Farm are the best”
“1984, Brave New World, and Animal Farm should be required reading.”
“Orwell was an important author sure, but not particularly a good one.”
“I expected 1984 to be on the list but thought it missing”
“I have only had animal farm and 1984 hook me up to a book so much.”
“I think you need to re-read Orwell's 1984 and understand the Nature of Power.”
“I found 1984 much more bleak and awful than We.”
“Very interesting and so actual.”
“I really loved Pynchon's introduction to 1984”
“Orwell's attacks are so pedestrianly obvious”
“the book has aged much better”
“1984 makes up for a good contrast that pushes us in the right direction”
“It is such a time-less classic.”
“I remember reading 1984 when I was a kid and enjoying it”
“1984 should be a must read for everyone.”
“1984 is probably in this category.”
“It took me three tries to finish 1984 because the beginning is such a slog.”
“IMO everyone should read it once, alongside with 1984.”
“I read some that stuck with me like "1984"”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.