The book 1984, by George Orwell, is an incredibly depressing dystopia about what it is like to live under a totalitarian government that wants to control absolutely everything – including people’s thoughts. Written in 1949, the book describes a bleak, hopeless, future.
The reader views it all through the eyes of the main character, Winston Smith. It is the book where the phrase “Big Brother is watching you” originated.
The first time I read this book was when I was in high school. It was assigned reading for one of my English classes. If I had to guess, I think this assignment was given when I was a Junior, so that would put the actual year at around 1989 or 1990.