POSSIBLE SPOILERS, I just don't know how to do the blackout thingy.
Basically, 1984 from an alternative point of view.
Ok, so,despite the fact that this book was written over 70 years after the book that inspired it, by someone with an entirely different lived experience than the original author, I was surprised and impressed with how close to the original style this book was written.
Running loosely parallel to the original, it gave a very clear picture of Julia's part and the role that she played, filling in the gaps in the original story that you didn't realise were gaps that needed filling.
Some assumptions from the GO book were affirmed whilst others totally turned on their heads, questioning things I assumed I knew or took for granted and made me think in other directions.
The final section was a total departure from the original and had no similar reference points to be guided by, but it still remained true to the style and left one with the feeling that it could be the start of "Ave Bossa nova, similis bossa seneca!", here comes the new boss, same as the old boss.
1984 is called a modern literary classic and quite rightly so, read and taught throughout the free, English speaking world, possibly wider, seen as prophetic by some, a warning by others and a damned good read by pretty much everyone who's read it, but due to the inclusion of, in my mind, unnecessary sexual profanity in Julia, it's unlikely to be taught as part of any secondary or high school curriculum, unless they have abridged versions, which would be ironic, which is a shame as I genuinely think that it has successfully added to an already complete masterpiece, without detracting from the original.
I'd most definitely recommend this as a readable encounter, likely to become a classic in its own right, sold and read along side 1984 as a well deserved pairing.
by dolly3900