Unlike some people, I think this book is more relevant now than ever before. Newspeak is hard at work in the hands of nations and corporations, for one thing. You only have to look at the fervor the media companies are putting into redefining the concepts of "theft" and "stealing" to include copying. Then there's the idiotic president and government of USA which are instituting the "spy on everyone you know, it's your patriotic duty!" program.

Of course, as important the book is in its message, it doesn't hide the fact that it's a hard book to read. Long passages where nothing happens, lots of repetition, and other things make it very hard to keep interested.