George Orwell’s Dystopian Novel ‘1984’ Sees Sales Spike in Trump’s America
1984 -- George Orwell's dystopian novel about an ever-present tyrannical government that promotes propaganda, manipulation and the punishment of free thought -- has seen a significant uptick in sales since Donald Trump took office last week (January 20).
Publishing house Penguin Books has reportedly reprinted 75,000 copies to meet the overwhelming demand, which earned 1984 the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s best sellers list Tuesday (January 24) after a sudden surge in interest, according to CNN.
“We put through a 75,000 copy reprint this week,” said a Penguin spokesman. “That is a substantial reprint and larger than our typical reprint for 1984.”
While the spokesman noted the beginning of the spring semester often results in an increase in sales, the sheer volume of reprints is significant.
Orwell’s 1949 novel has drawn several comparisons to the Trump administration, notably offering parallels between the book’s fictional Ministry of Truth — which falsifies history and distorts reality — and Trump’s own spokespeople, who promote “alternative facts” and blatant lies to the public, despite resolute, documented proof of the opposite.
CNN further reports Nielsen BookScan indicates 1984 has sold 47,000 print copies since 2016's Election Day (November 9), which is 36,000 more sales than the novel saw for the same time period in 2015.
1984 also saw a spike in copies sold back in 2013 when Edward Snowden made international news after leaking NSA documents.
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