Member Reviews
1984 is one of my all time favorite novels, so when I saw it was turned into a graphic novel I was a bit excited.
The story is obviously condensed, but it doesn't lose any of its effectiveness. 1984 is still a story about fear, control, corruption, and betrayal.
The illustrations are on point and stick with story. The comic format flows nicely, easy to follow.
"1984" is a great story and the art did it justice. It's gritty, harsh and in black and white. The symbolic splashes of red added to the atmosphere. My only issue with this is that there is a bunch of pages from a book in this world. They are literally pasted on with blocks and blocks of information. It was a bit jarring. Overall I say pick it up. This is a great way to read a classic without the older writing.
This graphic adaptation of 1984 packs a punch. The noir-style illustrations are well suited to Winston Smith’s narration. The text is quite dense, but does capture the overall mood of the prose version. Namai’s illustrations are powerful— there’s a distance when reading about the affair between Winston and Julia and the later torture at the hands of Big Brother in the original version that disappears when the images are drawn in such detail.
Thanks to Net Galley and Palazzo Editions for the electronic ARC.
I flew through this story! The art is simply stunning, and I can't wait for this story to be shared with a new generation. Graphic Novels do a wonderful job at telling a story, and immersing the reader. I think it can be difficult for some individuals to focus on text, but this graphic novel adaptation was a page turner. The art is wonderful, and it retains all the heart of the original story by Orwell. I will definitely recommend this title for purchase for my library.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel as protected PDF but unfortunately, I have really struggled to read this comfortably on my computer. Although I have a gaming laptop with 16 GB RAM, Adobe Digital Editions really struggles to render the pages - as in just scrolling to a new page will take a good thirty seconds or so to render.
The artwork and the quality of the graphics in PDF format is undoubtedly amazing and from what I can tell so far the graphic novel creates a similar vibe and feeling to the novel. I am a huge fan of Orwell and, of course, also 1984 in particular, but I also know that can be really difficult to hit fans' sweet spot when redoing a popular clasic in a different format. I would love to leave a more thorough review on this graphic novel once I can read it properly, either on a higher specced machine or in print.
There are so much emotion packed within this graphic novel. Aside from that, the deep sense of dread that it gives you as you realize the possible reality and truth behind the story is just appalling. George Orwell really wrote one of, if not, the best dystopian novel out there.
Focusing on the artistic choice for this, I am definitely in-love. The attention to detail and the shading type used in this graphic novel is just something to really appreciate. The choice of colour palette also gave it a strong characteristic of being such a suspenseful read.
Take note, this book contains a lot of violence.
Here’s the thing, I don’t like dystopian novels, and to be honest still don’t like Orwell’s 1984 but this is a great rendition of it. It’s well written and the illustrations matched the tone of the work. I really appreciated the colorless world only using red to highlight certain things. If you’re a fan of 1984 you’ll enjoy it, and I can see those not sure if they want to dive into the original text giving this interpretation a go first. Well done team.
This was a good version of this classic book. the artwork was appropriately bleak and it was a good fast read, however I do agree with other reviewers who said it was a bit wordy for a graphic novel. I prefer a graphic novel that falls back on the artwork and less on the dialogue.
This is a well executed graphic novel of 1984 which truly grasps the tone of the novel. I believe it is a great way to get beginner reader's into a classic that can seem intimidating. It's also great for those who want to see the novel brought to life.
A great way to encourage more people to read this book, this was a very well executed novel turned graphic novel. I really enjoyed the story the panels told and the art style. I think this is a great alternative for reading the story I hope to read more books like this
This is an excellent graphic novel adaptation of Orwell's 1984. Visually speaking, the selective use of red against the black, grey, and white is stunning. This would be great for reluctant readers. I will definitely be ordering copies for my classroom and the school library.
What a perfectly executed homage to George Orwell's dystopian masterpiece. Vivid, and engaging, I highly recommend this graphic-novel take on 1984, to be read alongside the classic text, or for readers intimidated by the original - I think this is worthy of your time.
The artwork is fantastic, and conveys the feeling of the novel perfectly. I think the sparse use of colour is a very intentional, very clever choice, and to the artist's credit, only adds to the story!
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Palazzo Editions for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
4 compelling stars!
Illustrated by Matyáš Namai
CW: violence, corrupt government
Thank you to NetGalley and Palazzo Editions for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Adapted from George Orwell's 1984, originally published in 1949, this book tells the story of a man living in a time of corruption, unable to avoid the government anywhere except in his own mind.
I requested this book because my fiance read the novel, but I stopped reading halfway because I was getting frustrated. Some of the content was confusing, but also, it didn't always seem to flow in a way that made sense. The lack of continuity made me angry and was the reason I stopped reading. I can't compare it to the original as I've never read it.
This is a really fantastic graphic novel adaptation of the book. The visual style is striking and it brings an already vivid story to life. It somehow brings an already terrifying story to all new levels of terror!
A true to the original story graphic novel. The artwork is well done and meshes nicely with the story..
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you Ad Lib publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title in exchange for an honest review!
I read 1984 years ago, and enjoyed it quite a lot, while some of the writing style feels like a drag. The premise is that Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian society where the government has eyes literally everywhere, and they are hard set on punishing those with independent thought. He falls in love with another member of the government’s outer party, and the two of them decide to join a revolution. However, the government really does have eyes everywhere, and things do not go as expected.
I am going to note that I am reviewing this as a graphic novel adaptation, and I generally love those. The art here was beautiful, but it also felt like it left a lot to be desired for me in the it really could have benefitted from some color. The entire palete is black, white and red. It made for some nice contrast at times that felt meaningful, but more often than not I just wanted more. Also, there was a large (LARGE) chunk in the third quarter of the book that basically room entire book length pages and put very small graphics in the outer margins. I know the reasoning for this, in that it was representing the book Winston was reading through, but I also felt that much of it could have been cut down immensely, and translated to more art.
All this said, I still enjoyed the book. I just would have enjoyed something a bit more unique that adds to the 1984 story in a meaningful and graphic way, as opposed to merely translating it over 1:1. I would recommend this to someone who wants to know the story of a classic, but feels intimidated by the writing of George Orwell’s original 1984.
Strong graphic novel with powerful illustrations. There is a lot of text. I read the original 1984 before the actual year 1984 rolled around. There was quite a lot I had forgotten; I was glad to read this version.
The graphics are black, white and gray with splashes of red.
Thanks, Netgalley!
I first read 1984 in high school, but it’s been a while since a re-read so when I saw this graphic novel I thought, why not? I’m not a big reader of graphic novels, particularly when it’s all visual, I like words. Luckily this is quite wordy with lots of direct quotes from the novel. The art does capture the bleakness and despair of Orwell’s dystopia and I thought this was a great way to revisit 1984.
A classic story, that stands the rest of time in an alarming way! It was fun having illustrations to accompany the story.
I thoroughly enjoyed my exploration of this adaption of George Orwell's 1984. The artwork brought with it a sense of dark despair, so much of it utilizing colors when emphasis is needed and shocking the reader with the sharp contrast of the black and white. One of the best things about this graphic novel is that the artist does such a good job capturing much of the novel within the artwork, thus showing the reader what's going on without needing to explain. It adds much more emphasis to Orwell's writing when it's given a vivid, physical image.
Whether coming to Orwell's work for the first time or you're someone whose familiar with the work, I think this graphic novel would make a great addition to anyone's reading list. Pairing Orwell's storytelling with the vivid, sharp imagery from the artist, leaves the reader feeling as if they'd been transported to the dark world within the pages.