- Reading Challenge Pick
Science Fiction
The Handmaid's Tale
by Margaret Atwood
In the Republic of Gilead, Offred records what she is not allowed to say out loud.
Science Fiction
1984
by George Orwell
- Featured
- Reading Challenge Pick
Winston Smith rewrites the past for a living, until he decides to keep one honest thought of his own.
- Genre
- Science Fiction
- Audience
- Adult
Your reading list is saved in this browser on this device. Retailer links open an external search — we may not earn anything from them.
- Dystopia
- Classic
- Political
About the book
Orwell's dystopia gave us doublethink, Newspeak and the Ministry of Truth. It is a novel about language as much as surveillance, and its argument has kept finding new readers in every decade since 1949.
Why we recommend it
Short, ferocious and endlessly discussable. Few books give a book club more to argue about.
Reading challenge selection
Prompt: A Book That Makes You Think
It reframes ordinary words — freedom, truth, memory — and readers rarely finish it thinking the same way they started.
Explore Challenge Books
The Newsletter
Your Next Great Read, Delivered
Get thoughtfully curated book recommendations, new releases, reading-list inspiration, challenge updates, author features, and the latest from TheBookBlurbs delivered to your inbox.
We respect your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.