Shades of Man’s Search for Meaning punctuate this legendary dystopian novel. In fact, those two books may make an interesting tandem read. Felt it took awhile to get any traction in the story (slow build), but was very purposeful in that build – no fluff or meaningless rabbit holes. Orwell was clearly on a mission to tell a very specific story with a strong socio-political perspective. The story dragged when the reader was expected to read a book that the main character was given to read about the totalitarian power dynamic in place. Overall the story painted a concrete picture of human suffering, but had I not known it was such a famous book, I may have viewed it in a more negative light. It’s a worthy read, but more like a worthy read of a great essay or article and not as a work of fiction that builds emotional connections between the reader and the audience.