Sandra Newman's Julia—a retelling of 1984 from the perspective of Winston's love interest who was never fully fleshed out in the original novel—sounded fascinating from the start. And it is fascinating. It's one of those turn-it-over-and-over-in-your-head-for-days-after-reading titles, and I've been turning it over, but now it's time to review before too much slips my mind. Rather than trying to write an "orderly" review, I want to point out some aspects of the book that I particularly appreciated.

• First off, thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Newman for making this cardboard cutout of a character into a lively, intelligent woman. I found the way Julia functioned primarily as someone Winston could react to in 1984 profoundly irritating.

• Second, Newman nails life in Oceania. Nails it. Julia looks at her world and sees. While Winston was embedded in his own mind, through Julia we have a vivid depiction of daily life in Oceania—community housing for unmarried women, a black market between party members and proles, a government plan to create "sex-free" (as in not requiring sex for conception) babies, endless efforts to travel the explosive territory of newspeak.

• Third, it complicates Julia's motivations in ways that are fascinating, but that I don't want to go into detail about because of spoilers.

Julia isn't just a 1984 knock-off. It builds on 1984 and respects that novel's truths, but it also offers a more complex, detailed, twisted, directed-by-unseeable-motivations world than did 1984.

I'm not sure about the ending. That's one of the turning-it-over-in-my-head items I haven't yet worked through, but this novel is very much worth reading in its own right and for the vividness it brings to Orwell's original novel.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own.
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Julia, 1984 was supposed to be a take on the book 1984. Perhaps I needed to re-read 1984 before attempting to read this book. I didn't find the book interesting or engaging on it's own. I felt like I was missing some of the story. It was depressing and annoying. I remember liking 1984 when I first read it, and I have liked other re-imaginings of older "classics," such as Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. Maybe this one just wasn't for me.

This is a great read for fans of 1984, a retelling from Julia’s perspective. It was appropriately dark and there were points in which it felt like the mirror image of the source material. At other times, it truly gave a lot more information than the very sparse original. Julia, like Winston, is a character you enjoy and empathize with as much as you can, but not one whom you can truly love. The ending is appropriately grim. Overall, longer than expected but a good read.

I'm an absolute SUCKER for a dystopian retelling and I am so thankful to Mariner Books, Sandra Newman, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this behemoth before it came out this past year.

Sandra Newman brings George Orwell’s 1984 back to life with her companion novel, Julia, which tells the story of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia Worthing. Written with approval from the Orwell estate, Julia gives us the feminist side of the chilling classic, delving into issues personal to women, such as pregnancy and abortion, and the female role in a dystopian society.

Going into a retelling or adaptation, I am always a bit wary because too often authors miss the mark in their version of a well-known story. Perfectly capturing the dark, ominous tone and atmosphere of Orwell’s style, Sandra Newman, however, has paid tribute to the classic that has captivated and horrified readers for nearly 75 years. I truly felt like I was reading a novel written by Orwell’s hand, as the two books essentially work seamlessly together.

I will admit that even though I have read 1984 twice, I am not well-versed on its contents, big ideas, and themes. While I have a general sense of the work, I am no expert, and therefore did find myself lost a few times while reading Julia. Here and there, I felt like I was likely missing something that I was supposed to remember from Orwell’s original; however, this is no fault of Newman’s. If she had taken the space to re-explain core concepts for readers like me, this book might not have worked as well as a companion as it did.

"Julia" by Sandra Newman, set in the same universe as George Orwell's classic "1984," offers a unique perspective by following the character Julia, who was Winston Smith's lover in the original dystopian novel. However, my experience with "Julia" differed from what I anticipated.

First, let me provide a brief overview of the book's connection to "1984." "Julia" serves as a compelling expansion of Orwell's universe, offering readers a deeper insight into the character of Julia and her experiences in a dystopian world. This aspect intrigued me and was the initial reason for my interest in the book.

However, as I delved into "Julia," I was taken aback by the significant focus on sexual content, which I didn't recall being as prominent in "1984." It's possible that I either forgot or overlooked this aspect when I read "1984" in 8th grade. Revisiting books from one's youth can often lead to surprising revelations about the content. As someone who identifies as asexual and fluctuates between being sex-favorable, sex-neutral, and sex-repulsed, I found the explicit sexual content in "Julia" challenging to read.

The uneven pacing of the book also posed a challenge for me. The first half of "Julia" felt somewhat inconsistent, with certain parts holding my interest while others felt less engaging. This fluctuation in narrative quality added to my overall experience of the book.

Regrettably, my discomfort with the sexual content ultimately led to me discontinuing my reading at around 45% of the book. I wonder if re-reading "1984" prior to "Julia" would have provided a more solid foundation for appreciating the story and characters in their entirety.

In conclusion, my review is a reflection of my unique perspective and sensitivities. If you're a reader who isn't bothered by explicit sexual content, "Julia" might still be worth a chance, as it offers an exploration of a familiar dystopian world from a fresh angle. However, I felt that the explicit sexual focus detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. Personal expectations, as well as one's own experiences with "1984," may significantly impact how "Julia" is received.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the digital advanced reader's copy.

This is a tough one for me. I read 1984 in high school and found its ideas and its ending powerful and thought-provoking, so when I saw this release from Julia's perspective, I couldn't resist.

However, for me, this one never quite found its footing, except in the middle third, where Julia faces Room 101 and the horrible realities of living in Oceania.

I really struggled with the first third. It felt like it really dragged, and, since I was already familiar with the world of Oceania, the world-building wasn't new.

The middle third picked up, and was the best bit, as the author revealed more of Julia's past and the reasons why she was who she was now under the Big Brother regime.

Julia is forced to make hard decisions in order to survive, and yet, as Ambleforth points out, "One had no choice, one must only live through it as if one had." As I read more about Julia's life in Oceania, both as a girl in a Semi-autonomous Zone and as an Outer Party member in London, I wondered about this for Julia, for Winston, for Ambleforth, for Parsons. Did they ever have a choice? Is choice only for those in power?

I also struggled a bit with the ending. It felt contrived, and, while it isn't an easy ending for Julia, as she is faced once again with a choice that isn't a choice, it felt forced - this is where the author wanted Julia's story to end up, even if the ending doesn't feel entirely authentic to the rest of the novel.

All in all, I'm glad I read it, and, like the original, it definitely made me think, but, for me, it doesn't have the same power as 1984. I think it's going to stick with me though. Julia's story is visceral, while Winston's was more cerebral . . .

*graphic violence, sex, language

Very good, especially Part three. That ending! Brilliantly done. The book expands the character of Julia from 1984, so her background, her childhood and family and her life in London.

I hoped for something special but Sandra Newman definitely isn’t going to give George Orwell a run for his fame.

I received this advanced reader copy from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. This is an absolutely brilliant feminist retelling of 1984, which captures the difficulty faced by women in the dystopian future created by Orwell. The characters are fascinating, particularly Julia's challenges that are unique to women in this world. I found the story captivating and filled with more apt parallels to the current political and social situation in the United States in 2023, than perhaps 1984 did during its initial publishing. This is a novel that every woman -- every person -- should read before the 2024 election election. I strongly recommend this novel to anyone who is interested in sci-fi or dystopian storylines, but honestly this story could appeal to a much broader type of reader and I hope that it does. Exceptional!!

Julia by Sandra Newman is a re-visioning of the Winston Smith’s love interest in 1984 and was approved by the estate of George Orwell. There have been many recent efforts to give voice to voiceless female characters from classic fiction and epic poetry. My favorite, by far, is Ursula K. Le Guin’s Lavinia, Aeneas’s bride from the Aeneid, a character who is completely silent in Virgil’s poetry, but who is richly re-imagined as a strong, interesting character by Le Guin. By that standard, Julia falls short. There is a lot that Newman does very well, but there is also a lot that is disappointing.

Newman re-creates the world of 1984 and gives Julia a convincing place within it. She is a mechanic in Fiction and keeps the machines running that produce the safe novels that reflect the latest in Big Brother’s thought and NewSpeak. People are constantly disappearing for various thoughtcrimes, “vaporized” in the terms of this world, and Julia manages to get what enjoyment there is to be had from her dorm life, her repair work, the ritualized Hate sessions and other communally enforced behaviors. But mostly she survives on the strength of her internal life and dreams, often of the sex that is considered a serious crime, and she manages a secret sex life that helps her feel alive. She is told she is a Hero of the Party because she betrayed her mother to the authorities as a teenager, but we also learn her backstory and the desperate circumstances that forced her to do this.

Compared to the thinly drawn Julia of 1984, this Julia is a well-rounded character in a world that comes to life, just as much in the description of prole life as in the more privileged and perilous existence of those working for the Party. But she is drawn more deeply into Party ranks by O’Brien, a key figure in the original 1984 who there seduces Smith into thinking he is a secret member of the democratic opposition. This Julia seems swayed by the apparent promise of gaining access to the rich life of the Party elite. What they want of her is for her to use her sexual power to become a whore of the Party. And they are just that blunt about it, after carefully leading up to their plan by playing on her hopes and loyalties. Julia enters this life willingly because she has already been meeting men secretly to have sex. It’s been an important part of her life, one area of imagined freedom and enjoyment in an otherwise regimented existence. But now she is to seduce men identified by the Party, and she becomes an effective agent at getting these men to betray themselves for eventual elimination.

That is the extent of her agency and empowerment, and there is little surprise when she finds she’s only been a tool of the Party all along, an effective spy and collaborator despite her imagined future of life in the more privileged world. The men in power toss her aside as if she were nothing. There is an interesting twist in the story that goes beyond the events of 1984 and promises real liberation, but even that has a predictable crushing end to her hopes. What enables her to survive everything is her ability to detach from what is happening around her and from what she is forced to do and say. But that seems a poor substitute for a real life and made me wonder what the point of writing this novel really was. The original 1984 was a study in the uses of raw power to turn people into slaves capable of denouncing themselves and believing that their very thoughts made them criminals and worthy of execution. It was told through the eyes of a man who was manipulated by men in power. Julia shows that women could be manipulated even more deeply through their bodies as well as minds, but that isn’t news. It’s what we see around us every day.

Julia gives readers a new view of the classic novel 1984. To prepare for reading Julia, I watched the movie version released in the mid-eighties. It had been decades since I read the book 1984 and wanted to be able to compare the original story to Julia. War is depressing to read about and both the original story and this new view from the character of Julia left me feeling like humans will never stop fighting. I look forward to reading other alternative versions of classics, but happier ones than this.

While this wasn’t exactly what I’d hoped for I did appreciate the thoughtfulness of the story and the direct homage to one of my most loved stories. We revisit the relationship between Julia and Winston, all seen from Julia’s perspective.

There were some chapters that completely captivated me but sadly they were outnumbered by the ones that made my eyes glaze over. It wasn’t quite what I’d hoped for and, for some reason, i was surprised by the exaggerated use of foul language. I know 1984 had it but this just felt like it was used too often and in the wrong way. It was clear the author dissected 1984 thoroughly before writing this and I appreciate the time and effort but it wasn’t the right fit for me.

Thank you Mariner Books for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I tend to enjoy these classic retellings from a different point of view, but maybe with more of a genre spin attached…not to the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies extent, but maybe The magical world of Gatsby of The Chosen and the Beautiful or The Daughter of Doctor Moreau. These two added so much for me in a new, fresh style. This retelling added a lot to Julia, and I found her to be a compelling character. But it took away from the world of Winston Smith and the overwhelming power of the state and the Thought Police in the original work. I still enjoyed enough of the events and points of view to make the read worthwhile.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to the ARC of this novel.

Having been intrigued and unsettled by George Orwell's "1984" since my high school and college days, I found Sandra Newman's "JULIA" a riveting, feminist retelling that breathes contemporary resonance into the classic dystopian narrative. The coined phrase, "Peace is Hate, Love is Hate," exemplifies societal constraints, mirroring 2023's real-world scenarios through a gender-focused lens. This modern iteration maintains the original's grim foresight while introducing a fresh narrative perspective.

Newman's "JULIA" is not only a compelling read for those familiar with "1984," but also offers a unique intersection of classical dystopian themes with modern feminist discourse, making it a significant read in today's socio-political climate. So much so that, in some ways, it may even be more unsettling to read than Orwell's original.. But despite that--or perhaps because of that--I couldn't put this novel down.

Having taught 1984 for years, I have thought frequently about the character of Julia--her history, her interest in Winston, her motivations. While I loved seeing all of these questions explored in Newman's deft hands, the novel overall felt a little bit stifled by the original text. Perhaps because this is an "authorized" retelling, I was left wanting more divergence from the source material. Still, I'd highly recommend this to readers interested in retellings of classics as well as lovers of dystopian fiction.

This book is so different from what I normally read and was never assigned 1984 in school so I did cliff notes it while reading Julia to understand the generalities they both followed and where Julia’s story diverged.

I really appreciate how Julia was written as a 26 year old selfish person that just wants to live her life as we most are at 26 years old. Most 26 year olds also are not politically savvy and don’t know what they stand for other than what they personally want to do, just like Julia.

The irony is in the ending for me when Julia is asked two sets of horrid questions by the corrupt political party she is set to escape and the one she is joining as a important narrative on the political system that they are typically two sides of the same evil coin.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my copy of this one as it truly was a slow but intriguing read for someone who never read 1984z

I didn't like 1984, but I enjoyed this book! It helped the story feel more lived in and more like a story, rather than just a political allegory.

Julia is a retelling of George Orwell’s 1984. It is told from the point of view of the title character, who was Winston Smith’s love interest (if it can be called love) in the original.

Julia Worthing is very different from Winston Smith. Whereas Smith is caught up in finding and proving (to himself at least) the lies that the Party tells, Julia is really only interested in living her life to the fullest, despite the regime that dominates her life (as it does everyone else’s life). She does this despite the fact that the patriarchy is alive and well in Oceania’s “revolutionary” society.

Sandra Newman spends some time exploring and setting up Julia’s character. Although she may seem frivolous, she is not so different from many twenty-six year olds. Although she has a job—at the Ministry of Truth where she repairs fiction machines (which do bring to mind today’s AIs like ChatGPT)—she wants to enjoy the things that she can enjoy.

She willingly commits sexcrimes (all while being a member of the Anti-Sex League) and trades in the black market. While she knows there could be consequences for these, she doesn’t seem too worried about these. She has seen some of her bunkmates and other vaporized, but is adept—as is everyone in Oceania—at pretending those people never existed as demanded by the party.

We see her as she is used by a tool by the Party, and eventually punished for it. Even as she is being tortured Julia fails to understand this. She never really comes to grips with it. What we understand is that the Party machinery sets out to destroy not just those who are potential political opponents, but even those who simply want to live their lives.

The narrative raises questions of freewill, both generally and in a totalitarian society. These questions are never answered, leaving the reader to grapple with them, both in Julia’s life and in their own.

If you read 1984, you should read this brilliant slant on it . The author presents us with Winston’s lover as the lead character and does an exemplary job of showing us what she really is like.
It follows the original novel but with a number of twists.
Really an excellent read.
I do recommend. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC.