You’ve read 1984, right? If you haven’t, you really should (like right now!) - it’s Amazing. (it’s available here). The title of Cory Doctorow’s latest book, “Little Brother“, is a clever reference to 1984’s “Big Brother”.
Orwell’s 1984 portended a chilling future 36 years away from it’s 1948 writing. It depicts how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning under totalitarian rule. Some of the predictions were over the top but it works because it’s an apocalyptic satire. 1984 was not intended to be an accurate prophecy, but rather employed literary license to convey important overall themes and emotions.
In many ways, Cory Doctorow’s latest book, “Little Brother“, is even more ominous. That’s because he doesn’t grasp at some far off future that could possibly come to pass. It’s not some distant and satirical fantasy world. It’s a conceivable reality circa 2015. Almost all the truly nasty things depicted are already happening.
I started “Little Brother” at 11:30 pm and didn’t get to sleep ’til I finished the book at 6:30 am. Excellently paced: it’s probably the most important book I’ve read that was written in the last 20 years.
“Little brother” is not perfect. The villains: well, let’s just say we’re not talking Dracula, Hannibal, or Vader here.
And the ending was a bit of a let down: deus ex machina is not even close to the level of:
He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.
But Cory is not Orwell. Not yet, anyway.
Cory wrote the book in just 8 weeks. If he took another 50 to perfect it, he might have made a timeless classic. But the book is written under the creative commons license. From my understanding, that means that the book is just version 1.0. It can be rewritten with the flaws ironed out by anyone . . . even by you. Maybe (hopefully) it will be.
Bottom line: Read the Book. It’s really, really good - almost great.
Hat tip to Matt for the Book Rec.
One Response to “Little Brother Review”
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I thought the ending of Little Brother was appropriate considering it’s classified as a teen novel. Where 1984 was a dark warning, Little Brother serves as a hope-filled effort to galvanize our desire to actually do something. It’s probably not as effective if you crush a teenager’s hopes of overcoming the daunting odds. When I read 1984 at age 16, it just made me feel as if the dystopia is inevitable. Little Brother made me feel like we could fight back against encroachments on our privacy. Mentioning that some of the technology in the story is available in real life really helps too.