Reading 1984 in 2013

St John’s Wood Library book group have been reading George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.  

But has Winston Smith’s wrestle with oppression stood the test of time and remained chilling?

And do you hear the term Big Brother and think ‘Oh great, when is that coming back on TV ?’ rather than ‘I really must read 1984’.  

Discuss…

Re-reading novels – is life too short?

Being a member of a reading group I often find that the book chosen is something I have already read.  I used to feel it was a waste of time to re-read and tried to wing it by looking at a synopis online, but faced with Wolf Hall as our next choice might be wise and useful to re-read it? Will it give me a better understanding?   I re-read Wuthering Heights in my 30s and was saddened to see Heathcliffe as a tiresome bully instead of the hero of my teenage years.

Perhaps ones initial emotional response to a novel should not be tested with a second read. What do you think?