Joyous Song answers “Why do people rate this book so high? ...”

Wilma asked this question about 1984:

Why do people rate this book so high? Surely I am missing something.

Joyous Song It's one of those books that's actively unpleasant to read at every point therein, but that fact only improves its purpose. Ingsoc's Britain is hideou…moreIt's one of those books that's actively unpleasant to read at every point therein, but that fact only improves its purpose. Ingsoc's Britain is hideous by design, and even thinking of it is awful, but it's a sublime kind of awful. It's a really well-crafted awfulness that calls up feelings of resistance against allowing Ingsoc or anything like it to pass.(less)

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