Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story, in his Fresh Air interview:
When I think of “1984” and “Brave New World,” two brilliant, dystopian books, I remember some of the ideas better in “Brave New World” because I think some of the ideas were stronger and more developed that Orwell’s sort of Stalinist take on Russia.
But I remember “1984” as a novel better because the romance between Julia and Winston was real. It was real, and it was a romance that stood against a society that just wanted to destroy them. And I think, you know, that’s why you root for Winston and Julia because you know that they’re doomed.
I was kind of a romantic kid, so one of the reasons I loved 1984 when I was in middle school was because it was a love story. Something a lot of people forget…