Would Orwell News Today

At a time when George Orwell’s ’1984’ feels more relevant than ever, Sandra Newman’s novel ‘Julia’ critiques Orwell’s misogyny in ‘1984’ while joining a long tradition of fictional retellings that reimagine a classic work’s protagonist through the eyes of a marginalized character, writes Laura Beers.

The book is an undisputed literary classic. It is “a fairy story,” retelling the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Stalin through an inoffensive animal fable, while at the same time exploring Orwell’s recurring themes of doublethink, disinformation, and propaganda. Not everyone likes it or respects it, but everyone knows Animal Farm, a staple of school curricula even today. “It’s a 75-year-old, historically important book and you mess that up… Like, come on,” said Jele. “So,...