Sandra Newman: Julia (2024, Granta Books)
400 pages
English language
Published 2024 by Granta Books.
Julia is cool. Winston Smith, not so much. Anyway, you don't need to have read 1984 to appreciate "Julia." It's excellent. Frightening, but not (entirely) hopeless. A bit queer, in the best sense. Both in that queer people are present, and in that Julia's interest in sex for pleasure renders her suspect in the eyes of the regime. Definitely worth reading in these times of repression and spreading fascism.
This book tells the story of 1984 from the perspective of Julia instead of Winston Smith. An interesting idea, but I don't think it is worth a new book - especially as there is quite a bit of overlap between the two characters, given their relationship forms a key part of the story. The only way I could see this working is if chapters alternated between viewpoints - a bit like Game of Thrones where you read about the same scene from different perspectives.
I didn't feel that the situation was anything like as chilling as the original. Smith feels constantly watched and oppressed (which he is), whereas Julia seems to have more freedom and agency - or at least the impression of such. Smith is also an integral part of the rewriting of history - that's literally his job - even though he's uncomfortable about it, whereas Julia is …
This book tells the story of 1984 from the perspective of Julia instead of Winston Smith. An interesting idea, but I don't think it is worth a new book - especially as there is quite a bit of overlap between the two characters, given their relationship forms a key part of the story. The only way I could see this working is if chapters alternated between viewpoints - a bit like Game of Thrones where you read about the same scene from different perspectives.
I didn't feel that the situation was anything like as chilling as the original. Smith feels constantly watched and oppressed (which he is), whereas Julia seems to have more freedom and agency - or at least the impression of such. Smith is also an integral part of the rewriting of history - that's literally his job - even though he's uncomfortable about it, whereas Julia is mainly responsible for fixing machines (when she's not bunking off) and seems happy, even enthusiastic, about collaborating.
Had this been told from the perspective of O'Brien, or Big Brother, that might have been more interesting - I would really like to see how things work from the perspective of someone who is operating the system, as opposed to a cog in the machine. As it stands, this feels like a book published for the purpose of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the original novel. I certainly don't agree with the LA Times: 'reads like the original — only better'. Doubleplusbad thoughtcrime.
