When I first read Nineteen Eighty-Four two years ago, I gave it just two stars. This time, it hit much harder — and I ended up at a solid four. I think I was more focused this time around, more engaged with Orwell’s world and its place in modern literature. Maybe I just wasn’t ready for it before, but rereading it after Brave New World gave me a new appreciation for its lasting impact.
Even though I first read Brave New World in college — more than twenty years ago — I didn’t remember much going into it this time. I’m sure I liked it back then, but reading it now felt more impactful, perhaps because of the world we live in today. What struck me most was that, while Huxley’s vision remains fascinating, I don’t actually see our world heading in quite the same direction.
I’m a carnivore. Not like on the carnivore diet. Although I eat woefully few vegetables. Let’s just say that I eat enough fruit and vegetables, in combination with my vitamins and supplements, that my chances of getting scurvy are not nonexistent. I can’t not eat meat; the perfectly cooked, medium rare sirloin (or baseball-cut filet mignon) that is paired with a delicious bearnaise… All I’m saying is that I love me a good steak. I don’t need to know where it comes from, how it’s made, or anything like that.
