Thursday, Jul. 01, 2010

Gary Shteyngart

Author of Super Sad True Love Story suggests:
When the summer sun is shining, the waters lapping, the weeping willows willowing and all seems fine with the world, I like to add a touch of dystopia to my perfect life. So, Huxley's Brave New World or Orwell's 1984? The latter, and I'll tell you why. Brave New World is a brilliant novel of ideas, but a dozen readings later, I can't remember any of the characters. 1984, on the other hand, is, clumsily but effectively, a love story. The protagonists, Winston and Julia, are trying to survive impossible circumstances, to feel something in a world that has effectively outlawed feeling. Once Orwell's Stalinist satire is forgotten, their love endures and their pain is as real as any. Take that to the beach.