Wellington City Book Club

For our November book, we are reading “Julia” by Sandra Newman.

An imaginative retelling of George Orwell's “1984”, from the feminist point of view of Winston Smith's lover, Julia, by critically acclaimed novelist Sandra Newman.

Julia Worthing is a mechanic, working in the Fiction Department at the Ministry of Truth. It's 1984, and Britain (now called Airstrip One) has long been absorbed into the larger trans-Atlantic nation of Oceania. Oceania has been at war for as long as anyone can remember, and is ruled by an ultra-totalitarian Party, whose leader is a quasi-mythical figure called Big Brother. In short, everything about this world is as it is in Orwell's 1984.

All her life, Julia has known only Oceania, and, until she meets Winston Smith, she has never imagined anything else. She is an ideal cheerfully cynical, always ready with a bribe, piously repeating every political slogan while believing in nothing. She routinely breaks the rules, but also collaborates with the regime when necessary. Everyone likes Julia.

Then one day she finds herself walking toward Winston Smith in a corridor and impulsively slips him a note, setting in motion the devastating, unforgettable events of the classic story. Julia takes us on a surprising journey through Orwell's now-iconic dystopia, with twists that reveal unexpected sides not only to Julia, but to other familiar figures in the 1984 universe. This unique perspective lays bare our own world in haunting and provocative ways, just as the original did almost seventy-five years ago.

If you are coming to the Meet Up, we welcome recommendations for our next book. Come prepared to describe your choice. We like books of short to medium length that will not be too much of a challenge to read in the month or so allotted!

It is important that you please RSVP and cancel if your plans change. If RSVPs are closed, it means we have reached maximum numbers.

For our December book, we are reading “Tilt” by Emma Pattee.

Set over the course of a single day, an electrifying debut novel following one woman's journey across a transformed city, carrying the weight of her past and a fervent hope for the future.

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for nursery furniture at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. With no way to reach her husband, no phone or money, and a city left in chaos, there's nothing to do but walk.

Making her way across the wreckage of Portland, Annie experiences human desperation and kindness: strangers offering help, a riot at a grocery store, and an unlikely friendship with a young mother. As she walks, Annie reflects on her struggling marriage, her disappointing career, and her anxiety about having a baby. If she can just make it home, she's determined to change her life.

If you are coming to the Meet Up, we welcome recommendations for our next book. Come prepared to describe your choice. We like books of short to medium length that will not be too much of a challenge to read in the month or so allotted!

It is important that you please RSVP and cancel if your plans change. If RSVPs are closed, it means we have reached maximum numbers.