Julia: A Retelling of George Orwell’s 1984

Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It's 1984, & Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, & is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell's 1984. 

Julia has known no other world than that of Oceania and, until she meets Winston Smith, never imagined one. She's an ideal citizen of Oceania. Cheerfully cynical, believing in nothing & caring not at all about politics, she routinely breaks the rules but also collaborates with the regime whenever necessary. Everyone likes Julia. But when one day, finding herself walking toward Winston in a corridor, she impulsively hands him a note--a potentially suicidal gesture--she comes to realize that she's losing her grip & can no longer safely navigate her world. The passing of that note sets into motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. 

Julia takes us on a surprising journey as seen through the eyes of an indestructible young woman trying to survive in Orwell's now-iconic dystopian world, while laying bare our own world in bold & proactive ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

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Sandra Newman is the author of the novels The Men, The Heavens, & The Country of Ice Cream Star, longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction & named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post & NPR, as well as several other works of fiction & nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper’s & Granta.