To re-read '1984' beforehand or not to re-read? Just as one of those other dead white males in the English literary canon once asked, that is the question.

I did (double?)think about it more than a little bit. The original was the first book of his I ever read, and proved to be the gateway to several more. Orwell remains one of my favourite authors, and is absurdly influential in so many ways that it’s pointless for me to even try and summarise.

On balance though, I’m glad I approached this novel with only my hazy 25-years-under-the-bridge memories for company. ‘Julia’ fully exceeded my expectations, allowing a similar tale to Orwell's to gestate but with sufficient distance and novelty as a result of various modifications and adjustments. I sincerely mean it as a compliment when I write that I can’t really tell you which bits are Newman’s invention or are referenced (explicitly or otherwise) in the original. Some of the most memorable key features and plot developments - newspeak, telescreens, the Party, the Two Minute Hate, Room 101 etc - are all present and correct but upon completion this morning I felt the author had done a remarkable job of tightrope-walking. And with some grim panache, too.

Homage ;) is paid, but it’s not staid or reverential; it’s like Newman has slipped on some of George’s smartest outfits and wears them very well indeed. Playful, horrifying in places, some eerily accurate literary mimicry but never with the taint of feeling derivative. Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay is that the next thing I am now compelled to read in in fact Orwell’s original, so I can (hopefully) appreciate further what she’s pulled off whilst it’s all fresh in my mind.

As other people will surely comment by way of conclusion - doubleplusgood.

With thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Sandra Newman’s last two novels “The Heavens” and “The Men” both had strong dystopian elements and while neither could be faulted for ambition I felt both could for execution (the first for too ambitious an attempt to write too many novels, the second for a number of rather clumsy elements).

This is her third novel is an officially sanctioned (by Orwell’s estate) “feminist” rewrite of 1984.

Here I would say that the ambition is simply in accepting the challenge to rewrite such a classic book which has shaped our societal/political lexicon (and which interestingly is used today freely by both political extremes to criticise what they see as they totalitarian tendencies of their opponents) rather than in the rather constrained approach adopted; and the execution is perhaps as a very result of these very constraints much better. Because effectively what Newman has written is very much a parallel story to 1984 – taking place not just at the same time, but with many of the same scenes and identical occurrences and dialogue, but rather than from the third party point of view filter of Winston Smith, instead told from that of his lover Julia.

As a result this is a book I would say that should only be read standalone if you are very familiar with that dystopian classic: if like me you have studied 1984 at school and perhaps read it since, then I would suggest a back to back read of 1984 and then “Julia” as I think you will get much more from the novel that way.

Two things that struck me on a re-read of “1984”, and did not particularly endear me to the book on my recent re-read were the lengthy excerpts from Goldstein’s “The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism”; and the also lengthy torture scenes.

The first is very absent this time (of course the book appears, and Winston still reads it to Julia); instead I really enjoyed the back story given for Julia and the way in which Newman uses it to provide a much wider backstory for Oceania and London/the surrounding countryside itself – one that, at least for me, was convincing and complimentary to “1984”. Similarly, via Julia’s wider travels and wider contacts (from inner party members to proles) we gain a much wider view of Oceanic society – again done well I felt.

The second though is very present – and, if anything, even more graphic, as well as accompanied by a to my mind rather gratuitous fetus scene, which I think will turn some readers against the book.

The book also I think has a very different relationship to the Big Brother/Party regime – in 1984 is it presented as largely inviolate, undefeatable, and likely to last, if not even strengthen, for the foreseeable future. Here though: we more aware of the hypocrisy at its heart – and the lack of belief of some of the inner party members in the Party; we see how it already has rivalries and jealousies undermining its unity – in fact Smith’s arrest and Julia’s involvement are almost entirely motivated by intra-regime power struggles; we see areas of society where the Party’s grip is already weakened; and the book’s end implies its likely fall.

I have seen this criticised as undermining the horror and power of the original book and this indeed is correct but for me it is more historically appropriate: “1984” was at heart about Stalinist USSR and yet that regime went through a variety of upheavals before ceasing to exist only five years after the titular year – and the chaos, the fallout and the legacy of suffering that follows a regime fall is what “Julia” appropriately leaves us with rather than the despair of an unassailable regime of “1984”.

Overall then I found this a really good rewrite – one that I felt did not in any way undermine the original but buttressed and expanded it, as well as rewriting it with the benefit of 2nd half 20th Century history.

Thank you to the publishers for providing me with an ARC.

I requested this book because I was intrigued by the idea of 1984 told from Julia's perspective. In preparation, I re-read 1984, which primed be for Julia. Sandra Newman mostly sticks very closly to the original novel—almost everything that doesn't happen in 1984 is believable as something that happened outside of Winston Smith's awareness. (There's one exception—in 1984 Winston is held captive in Love for seven years before he's released. But it feels kind of silly and unnecessary in 1984, so Julia doesn't suffer from the change of detail. I am just compulsive and needed to mention it.) Speaking as someone who has read a lot of fan fiction, Julia read very much like the best kind of fanfiction that sticks closely to the inspirational canon and extrapolates from it in a way that indicates the author knows and understands the original inside and out. And I greatly appreciated this.

One of the things I loved about Julia was how it brings the world of Oceania to life from a female point of view. Of course, living as an Oceanian woman would be like this. I felt at times that Julia's sexuality, her desirability to men, her focus on sex in general, was more predominant than I'd have liked. But that didn't ruin the novel for me. It was fascinating to see Winston and the other characters through her eyes, to see her fleshed out into her own person, rather than just Winston's secret lover. Oceania looked different through her eyes. While Winston was beaten down and defeated from the very beginning, Julia had carved out a bearable way of life for herself. (Again, it's a shame so much of her pleasure centred on sex, rather than anything more personal or creative.) And it was devastating to see that slowly dredged out of her.

The Love section was very distressing, but I appreciated that Newman never went too far, never seemed to relish the details of Julia's torture. There no rape, which I really appreciated. Kind of impossible to believe her pregnancy would have survived so much beating and electrocution, and given how much Julia drinks, I can't imagine what state it will be in once it's born.

The later parts of the novel had a very dreamy, surreal quality, but so did a lot of 1984, so it fit. I did wonder if the book was heading towards a Brazil type ending. The ending, when it came, was perfect, although I was on edge about it until the final sentence. Very dark, very nihilistic, very real. I appreciated the honesty, even though it was devastating. It could have been much darker in bloody or obvious ways, but it didn't need to be. This was enough.

I know in future I'm going to have trouble picking my memories of both books from each other. Even the writing style felt akin to Orwell's writing. And while the book left me feeling that yes, we human beings are entirely fucked and there is no hope, it gave me the rush of pleasure at experiencing a meaningful work of art beautifully expressed.

Adding one thing: I thought the choice to pair Julia quasi romantically/sexually with a seventeen year old when she was twenty-six a bit off, especially as so much was made of the seventeen year old being an immature teenager, at least at first.

An absolute powerhouse of a novel! This is bound to take the publishing world by storm and be a big topic of conversation. Huge kudos to the author for creating a novel that both adds to and complements Orwell’s original.

I’ll start by confessing that I’ve never read Orwell’s book 1984 and did wonder if that would spoil my enjoyment of this one.

This story is told from Julia’s point of view. There were times that I think it would have been beneficial to have read the original but I did manage to follow the story.

I think it should have a trigger warning as there are some scenes that readers sensitive to the issues occurring in the book may struggle with.

I would give this a 3.5 star rating rounded to 4. The start and end were good but the pace slowed in the middle.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

”War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength”

When I first read George Orwell’s 1984 back in school, I was part terrified, part mesmerised, and absolutely captivated by Orwell’s capacity for capturing this chilling vision of a future, totalitarian world presided over by the ominous and omnipresent Big Brother. So when I read about this re-telling - after having recently read a re-telling of a classic story that didn’t work for me at all - I was on the fence about whether or not to read it.

Although it’s been years since I read the original, Newman drew me straight back into that world in a voice and tone that struck me as largely authentic and true to the original; reviving the stilted, ridiculous language of Newspeak, the contradictory Doublethink, the feared Thought Police, the towering Ministry of Truth, the looming screens that watch everything, and the ultimate risk of becoming an unperson. However, a retelling wouldn’t be a retelling without some additions, fresh perspective, and a twist, and Newman manages these beautifully. Julia, the supporting character to the original’s lead Winston Smith, is brilliantly drawn.

Some re-tellings from the female perspective hold back nothing and offer up a female lead who is fearless, brilliant, indomitable; and while Julia shows moments of all these, as well as a delightful rebellious streak, we also see her desperately frightened, confused, vulnerable, exploited, and still in parts brainwashed by Big Brother’s rule, which is what makes this retelling so compelling and engrossing. It’s not a re-telling offering up Julia as a newly revealed heroine who overcomes all her challenges; it’s a retelling imagining her side of the story, and the small and bigger ways in which she seeks to survive, in the terrible, fictional superstate of Oceania. Newman took on the major task, and gamble, that is retelling a classic and, for me, she absolutely nailed it.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my eARC.

DISCLAIMER: I read this as an ARC via NetGalley and Granta Publications, thanks to both.

I read 1984 in Jan 2013 and one of my main takeaways was that it was one of the only books I had ever read where I despised all of the characters, especially Winston Smith.

Even so, I was excited to read Julia.

Julia is a retelling of 1984 through a female lens, told from the perspective of Julia Worthing, a mechanic in the Ministry of Truth. The initial descriptions of life in Oceania are interesting and more detailed than 1984 and the language used is vastly more approachable, however, there is a very sudden change of language which feels like it has been shoehorned into the novel for nothing other than shock value before returning to the original tone of the book which I found very distracting.

Another takeaway I remember having from 1984 was just how much of what happened in the Ministry of Love was left up to your imagination whereas the scenes are described in quite graphic detail in Julia which feels like a bit of a disconnect between the two.

I don't really have much else to add... I think some readers coming into Oceania for the first time may decide to pick Julia up over 1984 and will probably enjoy it but I'm not too sure how well it is going to be received by fans of Orwell.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy of this book with no obligation to review.

I enjoyed this book very much and I felt that Julia (always Suzanna Hamilton to many of us I think) really shines through as her own character rather than the adjunct she was to Winston Smith in 1984. This book is much more than a companion piece to 1984, it is worth reading in its own right.

It is always difficult for an author who writes sequels or reimaginings of other works to keep the interest of the reader but to me there is no doubt that this author has achieved that. Some might say that all that had happened is that the author has gone through all the meetings of Winston Smith and Julia in 1984 and written then from the POV of Julia but there is more to this book than that. Julia is given a very interesting and heart breaking background and a fascinating life of her own in the hostel, at work, in her other relationships. All the characters, new and old, are well drawn and easily distinguishable, their dialogue, feelings and interactions are realistic and the plot is good. As a great bonus the book goes beyond 1984 and we see what happens to Julia after Room 101.

Depending on your own world view, the ending is either chilling or only to be expected but it came as a surprise to me!

I would mention that the incident with the blocked toilet in the hostel and especially the Ministry of Love chapters are strong stuff but they certainly illustrate the horror of the totalitarian state.

The only reason I have not given this 5 stars is that, while I really appreciated the book, I am unlikely to read it again.

It was only a matter of time before someone gave us a re-telling of a classic. This is George Orwell's '1984' told from the perspective of Julia. This was interesting, as all we really know of her from the original is that Winston Smith hated her before he met her, and in Room 101, he betrayed her. In this novel we get a glimpse of her young life and how she came to be working in the Ministry. We also get her feeling when faced with Winston's 'lust and rage'. I enjoyed watching how the whole episode where she passes him the note originated and their affair told from her POV. But I was not expecting the sexual content which at times is quite graphic. The original didn't need such details - sometimes leaving things to the reader's imagination is far more powerful. We have a lot more about life in Oceania in this book as the author expands on minor characters and from the original as well as providing more details about what life is like in London and outside it - the black market, the proles and the violence. However - when the arrests occur, then the graphic description of torture works - it reminds up of the horror of the regime. In the classic, the novel ends with Winston and Julia being released and reintegrated into society. There is no hope in the original novel. In this one, we have a whole new chapter - we find out more about what happens to Julia and to Oceania. The ending is very clever - I appreciated the ending and the feeling that it leaves you with. An interesting read.

This novel is a companion to George Orwell’s iconic “1984,” a book I’m not sure really needed any elaboration or follow-up, although Newman writes very well in the style of the original and in keeping with the spirit of it. It is hard to read nevertheless, as if anything it is even darker and more dystopian and has very little hope or light even for a short while. Told through the eyes of Julia, whose forbidden affair with Winston Smith unleashes a terrible retribution in “1984,” her motives and actions tell a very different (and, I felt, less effective) story), largely lacking in genuine human emotion, as people do and say anything to try to survive. Full of grim details and horrendous violence and betrayal, the evils of totalitarianism are clear but the alternatives are hardly any different. The famous rats scene in room 101 is possibly the most horrific thing I have ever read in a work of fiction. The ideas here are very interesting, and the story goes further into the future, but despite the author’s skill this was a place I was very glad to leave behind.

When I received this book, which is a different take on 1984 from a woman's view point, I wondered what I would remember of Orwell's great book. I read it 65 years or so ago, watched the brilliant TV play starring Peter Cushing at about the same time and saw an excellent play based on the book a few years ago. It is a book which has entered the consciousness of the British with concepts such as Big Brother, Room 101 and Newspeak in regular useage. Sandra Newman has built on Orwell's idea and filled it out with lots of detail as she tells Julia Worthing's story, I was hooked early on and enjoyed the ride, despite the horror of Julia's imprisonment and interrogation. Another reviewer has remarked that this book ends with hope {in contrast to the original], I am not so sure that is the message I was left with. Recommended!
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC through Net Galley

This was such a brave move, given how iconic 1984 is, but I think Sandra Newman really pulls it off. I was instantly back in the world of 1984 despite it being many years since I read it, and Julia’s perspective felt as though it offered something completely new to the story without taking anything from the original.

1984 is one of my favourite books. The intelligent prose and hopeless ending just had me obsessed with it for ages.

Arguably, this retelling is quite pertinent, with parallels everywhere in society now. It’s from a feminist point of view and of course, told through the eyes of Julia, Winston’s love interest in the original. And made with the blessing of the George Orwell estate.

Sandra Newman however has painted a complex character in Julia - giving us the inside line on who she is, what she thinks and what drives her actions including the fateful moment when she passes a note to Smith.

This feels like a new and fresh retelling, but respectful to the original. Newman has paid homage, while also adding electric details.

I read 1984 many years ago, and read a precis to remind myself of the plot before reading this companion
piece.
As a story I thought it was well written, cleverly weaving in thoughts and words from the Orwell novel, but as a "feminist retelling" I'm not so sure. It felt to me that Julia was used and abused by men throughout her life. Also, although the writing style actually felt close to a dystopian reality I found the dialogue excruciatingly dated, and difficult to read.
Thank you to netgalley and Granta for an advance copy of this book

This is a re-telling of 1984 from the view point of Julia, and I was intrigued to find out if it would hold it's appeal for me as some-one who has never read the original. The answer is yes - this is a book that holds it's own read as a standalone, although some aspects of the regime under Big Brother did seem a little vague, whereas I may have had a better understanding of the horror of the circumstances had I read the original.

I'm off to read 1984 now!

I'm sorry but I was very disappointed with this book. Possibly because I was so looking forward to it, but I found it very hard to get into, as the world building was weak and left me unable connect with characters nor surroundings. I read 1984 a while ago, set in the same world of course, but had me hooked from the start.

When I got approved for this title, I was so excited as this is one of my most anticipated upcoming releases. I am really grateful to have received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review, but unfortunately it fell short of my expectations. I read a lot of retellings and this book fell into the classic pitfall that some retellings risk falling into... I get the impression that Newman fundamentally thinks Julia as she exists in the original Nineteen-Eighty-Four is a boring character, that she doesn't think that character is interesting enough to carry a whole narrative. So instead she tries to solve the problem of the Julia by trying to give her reasons for the audience to get invest in her; black market dealings, lesbian trysts, insatiable sexuality and more, all of which feel like attempts to make the character 'interesting' rather than to serve as fleshing out the character's perspective. Each could have served as an interesting starting point, but that is all they are, starting points, ways to say "look how cool Julia is!". I think the idea behind this book is brilliant, and the some of what she does when it comes to exploring gender - an area not fully explored in the original - is really well done, but the overall problem I had with it was ultimately it didn't even feel like the same world as the original book. Sometimes not knowing why things happened in the original contributed to the points that Orwell was making, so Newman finding 'answers' and 'reasons' in this story is superfluous beyond functioning as a referential wink to fans of the original.

I really wanted to like this book but it just completely rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted a book that explored Nineteen-Eighty-Four from Julia's perspective, a criminally underwritten character, but this wasn't Julia, this was an attempt to make Julia remarkable when I never needed her to be.

Julia is a feminist retelling of George Orwell's 1984, told through Julia's point of view instead. I thought this was a really interesting take and I love the new rise of feminist perspectives that has risen in popularity lately. Although I don't think this is as good as 1984 it is a lot to live up for and Julia has its own 'charm' whilst keeping that chilling atmosphere. Overall I found this to bee an interesting book and well worth a read if you have read 1984.

Julia
By Sandra Newman

As I’m sure many others will be, I am drawn to this book by a great love of Orwell’s masterpiece, 1984. Sandra Newman manages to conjure this world back into the imagination, a world of darkness and hopelessness.
The relationship between Smith, Julia and O’Brien is the anchor by which this story develops. The familiarity of their characters helps move this story along at a good pace.
That said, this is not merely a retelling of 1984. Newman imagines the depth of Julia’s character, she gives her thoughts and attributes which are faithful to the original, whilst giving fresh direction to her story. Her observations of the thoughts and words of Winston Smith also made me see him with different eyes.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. For me the second part was the strongest, but it was all an enjoyable tale.
Where questions of truth and lies are at the centre of 1984 I think Newman focuses here on the nature of Love and Hate. What is it to love? What is it to be loved?
This book is a great achievement, an original story that stands alone, whilst at the same time giving fresh thoughts for the reading of Orwell’s original story.
I would heartily recommend this book to all lovers of 1984, as well as anyone who is just looking for a good story set in a dystopian world.

I found this an interesting read but I did not enjoy it!

I read 1984 a long time ago and this book brought back memories of it. It was interesting seeing the world from Julia’s viewpoint - she adapted and in many ways seemed to enjoy the world according to Big Brother.

Until the day she meets Winston Smith and her life completely changes.

She then becomes a play thing of the regime, is exploited, brainwashed and tortured and for what purpose?

Change comes but is it in effect any different from the regime she was escaping?

I found it hard to read - I could not find hope in the story - Julia survives but at what cost.