1985 (Burgess novel)
| Author | Anthony Burgess |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Dystopian |
| Publisher | Little Brown & Co |
Publication date | 1 October, 1978 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 272 p. |
| ISBN | ISBN 0316116513 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
1985 is a novel by English writer Anthony Burgess. Originally published in 1978, it was inspired by George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Plot overview
1985 is divided into two parts. The first half of the book is a series of essays and interviews (although Burgess is the voice of both interviewer and subject) discussing various aspects of Orwell's book. The second part is a novella that takes place in 1985, seven years distant at the time of writing. Rather than being a sequel to Orwell's book, Burgess uses the same concept. Based on his observation of British society and the world around him in 1978, he suggests how a possible 1985 might be if certain trends continue.
The main trend to which he is referring is the expanding power of trade unions. In the hypothetical 1985 envisioned in the book, the trade unions have become so powerful that they exert full control over society. A union exists for every occupation imaginable. Unions start strikes with little reason and a strike by one union usually turns into a general strike.
Another major theme of the novella is the Islamification of Britain due to large-scale immigration from the Middle East. London abounds with mosques and rich Arabs can be seen throughout the city.
Plot summary
Template:Spoiler At the beginning of the book the main character, Bev Jones, is confronted with the death of his wife. She was in hospital when a fire broke out, and as the firemen's union was striking, the hospital simply burned to the ground. (In the real world, the UK firemen's union had taken industrial action for the first time ever in 1977: presumably at the time Burgess was writng the novel.) The death of his wife engenders in Bev a deep-seated hostility towards the union system. This is however not the first time Bev has been forced to oppose, for he had previously been a history lecturer who stepped down as his work was considered expendable by the union-based system which favoured education of practical value. Employed at as confectioner, he goes to work one day despite his union being on strike. For working during a strike, his union membership is revoked, making him effectively unemployable. Bev then becomes something of a vagrant, travelling around the UK and falling in with a group of revolutionaries. He eventually dies after allying with, and then being betrayed by, Muslim extremists who plot to take over Britain.