1984: An Audible Original adaptation by Joe White
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Wow! I finished this earlier today and I can’t stop thinking of how good it was.
First of all, the story, 1984, by George Orwell is a classic. And one of my favorites. Whenever there’s a source material that I love, I am always a little leery of adaptations. Like the 1984 movie with John Hurt was very well done but it couldn’t match the book. And obviously this wouldn’t either, right? Wrong!
I was blown away at how well done this was. Narrated (mostly) by Andrew Garfield as Winston Smith, this is more than an audiobook. I’m usually not a fan of “productions.” I want my books narrated, but this worked. It REALLY worked.
Garfield was an excellent Smith and reminded me at times of Hurt in the 1984 movie. His performance also made me think that it’s a shame he hasn’t been cast as The Doctor. At least, not yet.
Tom Hardy was hyped as the role of Big Brother and nailed it. But I don’t think it’s a particularly hard role. Cynthia Erivo played Julia with a great deal of passion. I liked her much better than Suzanna Hamilton, who played her in the film. But the role that I found most compelling was Andrew Scott as O’Brien. Absolute perfection.
One addition that makes this not just an audiobook was the music. It reminded me of a score Trent Reznor would do, but was apparently by Matthew Bellamy of Muse and Ilan Eshkeri with the help of the 60-piece London Metropolitan Orchestra (recorded at Abbey Road), It added emotional impact on top of the already high emotions provided by Orwell and the cast.
At just 3 hours and 27 minutes, it is VERY MUCH abridged. But they got all the key elements in somehow.
I’m inclined to think I’ll go back and listen to this again sometime. And highly suggest that anyone who hasn’t listened to this, do so.
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Check my 2021 review of 1984 as narrated by Simon Prebble. Interestingly, this version is no longer available on Audible. But I understand it is still available elsewhere, including Libby.