[Book Review] Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984 by Sandra Newman

SYNOPSIS:

Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It’s 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell’s 1984.

All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal citizen: cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia.

Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story.

GENRE: Dystopia / Science Fiction / Retelling

PUBLISHED: October 24, 2023

RECEPTION: Mixed-Positive (4.3 on Amazon; 3.83 on Goodreads)

CONTENT WARNINGS: graphic violence, torture, war, classism, medical trauma, parental death, sex, rape, pregnancy, adult/minor relationship, suicidal thoughts, self harm, emotional abuse, confinement, animal death.

REVIEW:

Welcome back to London, Britain (now called Airship One), part of the trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania, and under the control of the quasi-mythical Big Brother. The year is 1984 and Julia Worthington, a mechanic working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth, is a model citizen surviving in a world of constant surveillance, "doublethink", "newspeak", the Thought Police, and child spies; it is a world in which you’re never quite sure who you can trust, and in which even your own offspring are willing to turn you in to the government. Julia tells the story of George Orwell’s 1984 through the eyes of the titular Julia, a love interest of Orwell’s protagonist Winston Smith in the classic dystopian novel. Julia revisits the story from a female-centric perspective, showing the challenges of life as a woman in Oceania.

Prior to reading the novel Julia, I had never heard of Sandra Newman. Her bibliography is small, and the style of books are not something that would typically come across my feed. I had no idea what to expect from her writing style or what themes the story would choose to focus on. I was skeptical, and even knowing the story was written at the request of George Orwell’s estate, I was not certain whether a novel like Julia was necessary or would work given many of the themes are, terrifyingly, relevant to the world in which we are living today. What I experienced whilst reading Julia did not meet my expectations, and while it has been many years since I first read Orwell’s 1984, my initial impression was that Newman did an excellent job bringing 1984 into the modern day and exploring the world Orwell established.

While some aspects of the story – e.g., sexual content, descriptions of anatomy that might be better suited to a romance novel, and the treatment of Julia at the hands of the Ministry of Love – are graphic, the story is almost a light retelling of the classic. Julia is good read as a stand-alone book and does not rely heavily on the audience having read 1984 to understand it, but it does not carry the weight of the original and was not as difficult a read. This is, perhaps in part, due to the state of the world in the modern era, but also Newman’s choice in language and choice of subject matter to focus on. Those who found Orwell’s classic uncomfortable (a normal response to a dystopian novel), or who had a difficult time getting into the world, may find something they like in this story. Those who go in expecting it to be “the same, but from the other side”, or who are hardcore fans of the classic, are likely to be disappointed.

Julia was an interesting story, and an interesting take on a character who was just there as a way to further Winston’s story. Newman does an excellent job of making Julia herself a “real girl”, adding a depth to her character that did not exist in the original. The female-centric focus serves to develop the world further, exploring life in Oceania in a way that Orwell’s male-centric classic could not, and Newman’s exploration of homosexuality in a world where pregnancy, sex, and intimacy come with social ramifications is tastefully done whilst remaining true to the original. It is intelligent, thought-provoking, and serves as an excellent companion to the original, though it would have been more effective with less sexual content and more of the almost horror-like scenes we have come to expect from dystopian novels.

The story does well blending scenes from the original story with new scenes designed to explore the world beyond Winston’s corner of it. Though, as one reviewer described it, it does at times feel as if “1984 and The Handmaid’s Tale were put into a blender”. Whether this description is positive or negative depends upon the reader and what they hope to get out of the story. For me, I did not feel the story managed to capture the horror of either tale, but the analogy is accurate in terms of theme. The visceral reactions that dystopian novels provoke were absent when reading Julia, and while I enjoyed the story, it felt like exactly that: a story. It lacked the disgust dystopias typically provoke, which may be more a commentary on the state of the world than the story, and I felt as if some scenes were put in to provoke that reaction rather than being organic to the tale.

FINAL RATING: 3 Stars; would recommend

PURCHASE: Available on amazon.ca, amazon.com, and in all major bookstores.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Sandra Newman is an American author who has lived in many parts of the world throughout her lifetime. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Polytechnic of Central London, and her Master of Arts from the University of East Anglia, both of which focused on creative writing. Her debut novel The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done was released in 2002 when Newman was at 37 and received a nomination for the 2002 Guardian First Book Award. She has written six books to date.