Published amid the Mueller report fallout, Dorian Lynskey’s The Ministry of Truth: A Biography of George Orwell’s 1984 (Picador) deftly reveals the grim contemporary relevance of Orwell’s masterpiece, exploring its influences and cultural impact while also bringing the flesh and blood author out from the novel’s shadow.
As 2019 has rolled on, FaceApp, ‘send her back!’, Hong Kong riot police, prorogation and @CCHQPress propaganda have made this dissection of Orwell’s totalitarian dystopia increasingly essential, fascinating and horrifying.
The New European, 19 December 2019, p. 21.
Sophia Deboick 