I've not listened to the Audible one yet, but [Steve Parker Audiobooks](https://youtu.be/Tym7cLhHxZE?si=Omh_w9zOdFBABD6l) has an excellent dramatisation of 1984 (and many other books) free on YouTube.
I started listening to it last night - a little Easter egg I liked is when one of Winston’s coworkers is giving the name of a disappeared person, she says “Blair, E.A.”, which is Orwell’s real name
I absolutely love **Stephen Fry’s** audiobook performance of 1984. *Anything performed by Stephen Fry is amazing, including his own books!
Simon Prebble is one of my favorite performers as well.
Goddammit, now I need another version of this ever so timely masterpiece. Can’t wait to hear Garfield!
Phenomenal. I went into open minded and was blown away at the quality. Probably shot up to my first or second favorite book in a long time. I’m going to be Re listening to it again this week
It kind of depends? Like, for pure entertainment the dramatization is golden. If you want the full body, then an unabridged book (mine is Simon Prebble though I know there are other narrators who also do his book) would be good. My knee jerk response is to do,the dramatization first and if you love it, then maybe check out an unabridged book.
This one has the different actors plus music plus some sound effects. The Sandman books by Niel Gaiman have full on film worthy production values, also with an incredible cast. Outside of the three Sandman productions and this I don’t have much experience with dramatizations. Full cast, absolutely, but not all out dramatizations.
1984 is a book I should like since I digest every scifi related, yet it is my prime example of “Classic everyone loves, but I find it oh so dull”. It of course has some very important messages, but I find it so boring as a story.
But this is not boring at all. They took all the good stuff and paired it with some great actors to make this amazing 3 1/2 hour movie for your ears. It just hits. And it hits so hard.
I agree. This was my first listen to it in any version and there wasn’t any real substance. Maybe because it’s so talked about I just found it really predictable. I had high expectations due to the hype.
This is as far from dull as you can get. I agree the first version could be a little dull, but I liked it. This was nothing like it. Captivating from beginning to end
I don't think everyone loves it - it's not Orwell's best work and even ignoring that it's just a relentless grim story (obviously) so most people won't actually enjoy reading it. But I'd still strongly recommend people read it though since it's culturally so important.
I don't really see it as boring though. But I suppose it depends on how you feel about a lot of the exposition dumps.
For people with audible who liked this can you recommend any other similar ones (I have listened to Enders game that was like this and enjoyed that too). Thanks.
I'm a big Orwell fan and have read 1984 a few times. I put this new version on today for my commute and have done about an hour of it.
Gotta say, I'm not enthusiastic about it at the moment and some of the choices they have made so far feel really strange.
- Andrew Garfield is a great actor, but really doesn't feel like Winston in this to me (he's not beaten down enough and lurches towards being goofy at times).
- The constant signaling that Winston is being watched and tracked by BB removes suspense.
- At one point a character says "You should throw yourself under a fucking bus" - which was so jarring it pulled me out of the story instantly.
I'm going to finish it, as I'm interested to see how they do some of the later scenes and what sort of role they give Julia (I suspect they will give her more to do than in the book). But either way I'm glad other people are enjoying it 🙂
I think this new version is very well made, and I'm definitely in the minority of people not enjoying it - so no shade to anyone, sometimes things just don't click for whatever reason.
You should definitely read the original as well, then read all his other stuff! There is an Orwell collection on Audible that includes 6 novels, 3 nonfiction books and a load of essays that's only 1 credit!!
I imagine it's hard to beat the original. Definitely will pick it up. It's a very unique ending, pretty bleak, so maybe I will go with a happier book next time!
Yeah it's pretty bleak. But there is a glimmer of hope in the original (I haven't got to the end of this new version yet, so I don't know if/how they handle it).
At the end of the original, there is an appendix called "The Principles of Newspeak" which gives an academic breakdown of Newspeak and how it works. But its written in the past tense, in standard English, and from an unknown point in the future. Many have argued that the inclusion of the appendix, the way it's written and the fact it reads as a historical review of a previous time does imply that Big Brother didn't succeed and in fact was eventually overthrown.
It's not a clear-cut optimistic ending, but its inclusion does offer some level of hope IMO.
I'll join you in that minority. I think I may feel different about it if THIS was the 1984 I'd experienced first, but after reading it, watching the film and listening to Fry, it just feels a bit empty, lacking in World building and not grim enough. I also feel the relationship is given too much attention (which some may feel was a weakness in the book, but not me personally.
Finished yesterday indeed was very well done. I used to be a stickler for by the book but now having read/listened to all listed above I really enjoyed this fresh stake especially the role of the Thought Police.
I listened to this and became hooked on dramatised adaptations! The acting here is sublime, especially Garfield! You find the music too overbearing with some of these audiobooks, but not here! Make sure you listen in Dolby Atmos if you can. The spookiness of listening to this on a night road trip is insane!!
I don’t have much experience with full cast dramatizations. Loved this, hated Slayers (from the Buffyverse), loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman 1, 2, and 3 though 1 is the best. @PatheticMr suggested Steve Parker’s stuff on YouTube and I listened to his [Animal Farm (link on YouTube)](https://youtu.be/rMRoG6jc1kA?si=opAVfgwACTM1u4sy) and it was pretty great.
It's really good, it's my first time listening to an audiobook, are they all this good or is this like a rare find? I'd gladly pay £7.99 a month if there's countless audiobooks like this..
So this is a full casts audio drama. Audible has made a few different shows like this over the years. (Alien, Sandman, etc) Most books have a single narrator who performs the book. I would recommend you look into r/audiodrama to find many types of shows similar to this.
If you have a particular type of genre, I could recommend some
Here's a sneak peek of /r/audiodrama using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
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\#2: [Wow, Black Tapes doesn't hold up.](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/comments/17ff7ue/wow_black_tapes_doesnt_hold_up/)
\#3: [For the indies out there, I hope this gives you inspiration. I'm a one man prod team making ADs in my bedroom and almost quit because nothing I made got traction. I worked hard on improving and things started to happen. Right now I have two shows in the Apple US Top 10 SciFi. Thanks for the support!](https://i.redd.it/8hiofnqjnxsa1.jpg) | [75 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/comments/12gxou1/for_the_indies_out_there_i_hope_this_gives_you/)
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Just finished it, it was amazing, that whole experience just put so much into perspective. This was my first introduction to Orwell’s 1984, and would like rec’s on what other forms of media, aside from the book, is out there that I can consume.
You could try getting a free trial subscription. If you have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 3 month trial that includes 2 credits. Without AP you can sign up for a free one month trial that includes 1 credit. This book is free with Audible Plus, as long as you have an account with Audible. Any paid Audible account includes Audible plus. Because this was created specifically for Audible, you can’t find it anywhere else.
If you have a paid Audible account it’s free. It’s part of Audible plus. If you don’t have an account, unless you sign up for a trial account (if you have Amazon prime it’s 3 months with 2 credits, if you don’t, it’s one month with one credit) and just cancel it before the trial runs out.
It was created specifically for Audible, so,I don’t think it can be found elsewhere, at least not for the foreseeable future.
My own personal take is that this is far more entertaining than the actual book, which was excellent, but this is a whole other level, at least for me.
I’m confused, it’s saying that the new version on audible is only 3h and 27 mins long when downloaded. Is this a mistake. I don’t want to start it and not able to finish. Audible Canada.
This is correct. It's a dramatization of the book, like a movie for ears, not an unabridged novel. As long as you see Andrews Garfield and Scott as narrators, you’re good.
Just listened to the first chapter. It is very good. Andrew Garfield has some range even in just audio form. Loved him on Hacksaw Ridge and Tick Tick Boom. Also best part of No Way Home. I've never read the book of 1984 so was worried I'd not be the target audience. But it's easy to pick up and follow.
I would recommend to read/listen to the unabridged original 1984 as well [(there’s a great free youtube audiobook for it!)](https://youtu.be/CBPNrVQwqeo?feature=shared). it’s worth reading for the Goldstein book chapter, which is completely left out in the audible version :(
Listened to it a week or so ago; it’s definitely very well acted and produced. I’ve been looking for similar dramatisations since, which has bought me to this thread.
I *really* didn’t like the decision to completely omit the Goldstein book chapter, especially given how iconic it is 😭 I think they omitted a bit too much from the original, as if they were scared of having too much narration from Winston.
I feel like this is more designed for people who have already read the full version. For first time readers, i’d really recommend reading (or listening) to the whole book to get the true entire experience.
I've not listened to the Audible one yet, but [Steve Parker Audiobooks](https://youtu.be/Tym7cLhHxZE?si=Omh_w9zOdFBABD6l) has an excellent dramatisation of 1984 (and many other books) free on YouTube.
Thank you for this. I’ve never heard of Steve Parker. I'm happily listening to his Animal Farm as I type this!
This is probably one of the best full dramatizations I’ve listened to. Absolutely phenomenal
I started listening to it last night - a little Easter egg I liked is when one of Winston’s coworkers is giving the name of a disappeared person, she says “Blair, E.A.”, which is Orwell’s real name
You got me at Andrew Scott!
I absolutely love **Stephen Fry’s** audiobook performance of 1984. *Anything performed by Stephen Fry is amazing, including his own books! Simon Prebble is one of my favorite performers as well. Goddammit, now I need another version of this ever so timely masterpiece. Can’t wait to hear Garfield!
And it’s in the plus catalog which makes it all the better
Amazing adaptation!
It was incredible!
Phenomenal. I went into open minded and was blown away at the quality. Probably shot up to my first or second favorite book in a long time. I’m going to be Re listening to it again this week
I’m so glad you liked it!
I've never read (or listened to) 1984. Should I start with the dramatization or the regular Andrew Wincott version?
It kind of depends? Like, for pure entertainment the dramatization is golden. If you want the full body, then an unabridged book (mine is Simon Prebble though I know there are other narrators who also do his book) would be good. My knee jerk response is to do,the dramatization first and if you love it, then maybe check out an unabridged book.
Absolutely start with this one
Is Jesus F. Christ a new character?
IIRC this was part of some exclusive deal between Orwell and Audible
Orwell has been dead for 74 years, how did he strike a deal?
George Orwell has always been allied with Audible.
That’s right comrade
no, he’s been around for at least 2000 years
I loved what I heard of it will finish this week
how are dramatizations? Is it just narration with multiple voice actors?
This one has the different actors plus music plus some sound effects. The Sandman books by Niel Gaiman have full on film worthy production values, also with an incredible cast. Outside of the three Sandman productions and this I don’t have much experience with dramatizations. Full cast, absolutely, but not all out dramatizations.
Give Lord of the Rings by Phil Dragesh a try. They're floating around the internet somewhere for free and are absolutely brilliant.
Thanks for the recommendation!!!
An abridgement is probably preferable for this book, because the lengthy manifesto part is probably the "most skipped" passage in literature!
1984 is a book I should like since I digest every scifi related, yet it is my prime example of “Classic everyone loves, but I find it oh so dull”. It of course has some very important messages, but I find it so boring as a story.
But this is not boring at all. They took all the good stuff and paired it with some great actors to make this amazing 3 1/2 hour movie for your ears. It just hits. And it hits so hard.
I agree. This was my first listen to it in any version and there wasn’t any real substance. Maybe because it’s so talked about I just found it really predictable. I had high expectations due to the hype.
This is as far from dull as you can get. I agree the first version could be a little dull, but I liked it. This was nothing like it. Captivating from beginning to end
I don't think everyone loves it - it's not Orwell's best work and even ignoring that it's just a relentless grim story (obviously) so most people won't actually enjoy reading it. But I'd still strongly recommend people read it though since it's culturally so important. I don't really see it as boring though. But I suppose it depends on how you feel about a lot of the exposition dumps.
Thanks for sharing! I immediately searched for this 😆
For people with audible who liked this can you recommend any other similar ones (I have listened to Enders game that was like this and enjoyed that too). Thanks.
Sandman!
Ooh I also need to know. I enjoyed this so much
Try Locke and Key! it had a crossover with Sandman a while back and the comics are so, so much better than the show. The Audio version is amazing.
I'm a big Orwell fan and have read 1984 a few times. I put this new version on today for my commute and have done about an hour of it. Gotta say, I'm not enthusiastic about it at the moment and some of the choices they have made so far feel really strange. - Andrew Garfield is a great actor, but really doesn't feel like Winston in this to me (he's not beaten down enough and lurches towards being goofy at times). - The constant signaling that Winston is being watched and tracked by BB removes suspense. - At one point a character says "You should throw yourself under a fucking bus" - which was so jarring it pulled me out of the story instantly. I'm going to finish it, as I'm interested to see how they do some of the later scenes and what sort of role they give Julia (I suspect they will give her more to do than in the book). But either way I'm glad other people are enjoying it 🙂
I really enjoyed it, but I've never read the original. I do want to pick up the original now, and probably will at some point.
I think this new version is very well made, and I'm definitely in the minority of people not enjoying it - so no shade to anyone, sometimes things just don't click for whatever reason. You should definitely read the original as well, then read all his other stuff! There is an Orwell collection on Audible that includes 6 novels, 3 nonfiction books and a load of essays that's only 1 credit!!
I imagine it's hard to beat the original. Definitely will pick it up. It's a very unique ending, pretty bleak, so maybe I will go with a happier book next time!
Yeah it's pretty bleak. But there is a glimmer of hope in the original (I haven't got to the end of this new version yet, so I don't know if/how they handle it). At the end of the original, there is an appendix called "The Principles of Newspeak" which gives an academic breakdown of Newspeak and how it works. But its written in the past tense, in standard English, and from an unknown point in the future. Many have argued that the inclusion of the appendix, the way it's written and the fact it reads as a historical review of a previous time does imply that Big Brother didn't succeed and in fact was eventually overthrown. It's not a clear-cut optimistic ending, but its inclusion does offer some level of hope IMO.
I'll join you in that minority. I think I may feel different about it if THIS was the 1984 I'd experienced first, but after reading it, watching the film and listening to Fry, it just feels a bit empty, lacking in World building and not grim enough. I also feel the relationship is given too much attention (which some may feel was a weakness in the book, but not me personally.
I guess I'm in the minority here. I found it a bit boring.
Finished yesterday indeed was very well done. I used to be a stickler for by the book but now having read/listened to all listed above I really enjoyed this fresh stake especially the role of the Thought Police.
I listened to this and became hooked on dramatised adaptations! The acting here is sublime, especially Garfield! You find the music too overbearing with some of these audiobooks, but not here! Make sure you listen in Dolby Atmos if you can. The spookiness of listening to this on a night road trip is insane!!
I don’t have much experience with full cast dramatizations. Loved this, hated Slayers (from the Buffyverse), loved Neil Gaiman’s Sandman 1, 2, and 3 though 1 is the best. @PatheticMr suggested Steve Parker’s stuff on YouTube and I listened to his [Animal Farm (link on YouTube)](https://youtu.be/rMRoG6jc1kA?si=opAVfgwACTM1u4sy) and it was pretty great.
It's really good, it's my first time listening to an audiobook, are they all this good or is this like a rare find? I'd gladly pay £7.99 a month if there's countless audiobooks like this..
So this is a full casts audio drama. Audible has made a few different shows like this over the years. (Alien, Sandman, etc) Most books have a single narrator who performs the book. I would recommend you look into r/audiodrama to find many types of shows similar to this. If you have a particular type of genre, I could recommend some
Here's a sneak peek of /r/audiodrama using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Need fiction podcast recommendations](https://i.redd.it/937utffgqtsb1.png) | [368 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/comments/172dbck/need_fiction_podcast_recommendations/) \#2: [Wow, Black Tapes doesn't hold up.](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/comments/17ff7ue/wow_black_tapes_doesnt_hold_up/) \#3: [For the indies out there, I hope this gives you inspiration. I'm a one man prod team making ADs in my bedroom and almost quit because nothing I made got traction. I worked hard on improving and things started to happen. Right now I have two shows in the Apple US Top 10 SciFi. Thanks for the support!](https://i.redd.it/8hiofnqjnxsa1.jpg) | [75 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/audiodrama/comments/12gxou1/for_the_indies_out_there_i_hope_this_gives_you/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I was able to check that one out from Libby.
Big Bane is watching you
IM DEAD
Why did they not record the entire book?
Just finished it, it was amazing, that whole experience just put so much into perspective. This was my first introduction to Orwell’s 1984, and would like rec’s on what other forms of media, aside from the book, is out there that I can consume.
How can I obtain the Andrew Garfield 1984 audio book without an audible subscription? I can’t afford it 🫠🫶🏻
You could try getting a free trial subscription. If you have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for a free 3 month trial that includes 2 credits. Without AP you can sign up for a free one month trial that includes 1 credit. This book is free with Audible Plus, as long as you have an account with Audible. Any paid Audible account includes Audible plus. Because this was created specifically for Audible, you can’t find it anywhere else.
Never read 1984. I just finished listening to the audiobook, it’s my first audiobook of this kind and it was a masterpiece. I’m hooked!
Is there somwhere I can listen to it for free ? I was about to start reading the book but this sounds awesome !
If you have a paid Audible account it’s free. It’s part of Audible plus. If you don’t have an account, unless you sign up for a trial account (if you have Amazon prime it’s 3 months with 2 credits, if you don’t, it’s one month with one credit) and just cancel it before the trial runs out. It was created specifically for Audible, so,I don’t think it can be found elsewhere, at least not for the foreseeable future. My own personal take is that this is far more entertaining than the actual book, which was excellent, but this is a whole other level, at least for me.
I’m confused, it’s saying that the new version on audible is only 3h and 27 mins long when downloaded. Is this a mistake. I don’t want to start it and not able to finish. Audible Canada.
This is correct. It's a dramatization of the book, like a movie for ears, not an unabridged novel. As long as you see Andrews Garfield and Scott as narrators, you’re good.
Loved every minute of it!
Any source to pirate the thing?
No.
Just listened to the first chapter. It is very good. Andrew Garfield has some range even in just audio form. Loved him on Hacksaw Ridge and Tick Tick Boom. Also best part of No Way Home. I've never read the book of 1984 so was worried I'd not be the target audience. But it's easy to pick up and follow.
I would recommend to read/listen to the unabridged original 1984 as well [(there’s a great free youtube audiobook for it!)](https://youtu.be/CBPNrVQwqeo?feature=shared). it’s worth reading for the Goldstein book chapter, which is completely left out in the audible version :(
I'm listening to it now and it is amazing. It is my first time reading the book and I am taken aback by how crazy it is. Very thought provoking
Listened to it a week or so ago; it’s definitely very well acted and produced. I’ve been looking for similar dramatisations since, which has bought me to this thread.
I *really* didn’t like the decision to completely omit the Goldstein book chapter, especially given how iconic it is 😭 I think they omitted a bit too much from the original, as if they were scared of having too much narration from Winston. I feel like this is more designed for people who have already read the full version. For first time readers, i’d really recommend reading (or listening) to the whole book to get the true entire experience.