What Eric Said

Nineteen eighty-four...

Seems to fit, I'll say no more,

Super read, so close.

This is a little something for Judey Kalchik's latest challenge, to write a haiku book review.

It's not exactly easy to reduce a book you love to 17 syllables, but hey, I love a challenge.

I chose George Orwell's 1984 for what I see as obvious reasons. Orwell, whose given name was Eric Arthur Blair, (hence the title) may have been a decade or two too late, but we can see parallels today between Winston Smith's Oceania and where we're headed.

I didn't understand this book when I read it for the first time in 1984. It was forbidden fruit. My mother wouldn't let me read it. I wasn't allowed to check it out of the local library because I was 13. My brother got it out for me.

I never thought I'd find myself revisiting this book several times almost 40 years later.

I don't want him to be right. Why are we the only species intent on destroying ourselves?

Orwell's 1984 is not only masterfully written and an entertaining and compelling story. It's a must-read for any thinking person concerned about free expression and individuality.

thank you, Judey, for the prompt.