Read a couple of classics recently.
John Steinbeck's East of Eden which absolutely blew me away.
Not read anything by him since 'Of Mice & Men' when I was still in school many years ago.
Probably some of the best characters ever penned to paper in my opinion. Cathy/Kate was such a fantastic protagonist and commanded every scene she was in.
The bromance between Samuel and Lee was another high point for me.
It seemed like every other page had a quotable passage. Just a great read overall.
Also recently finished Orwell's 1984. Something that's been on my to read list forever.
Maybe doesn't have the same impact today as it did at the time of first publication (1949) coming straight off the back of WWII and the rise and fall of National Socialism and of course the then growing Soviet Union.
While there's still a lot to like here, it does feel very ham-fisted at times. Also, you have to get your head around the 'future according to the 1940's' as well.
It's also been copied and parodied a lot since its first publication.
The story itself is great. He's absolutely nailed the feeling of paranoia and tension, the 3rd act in particular is very intense, however a lot of this felt broken up by the books many tiresome monologues. (I'm looking at you O'Brien!)
That said, it is very well written, loved the world building over all and of course it is another book awash with highly quotable passages. I enjoyed it overall and it's also made me realise that a lot of the so called 'free speech warriors' online who scream about censorship and "this is just what Orwell warned us about in 1984" have likely never read it
