Oceania, the setting for Julia, is a totalitarian country ruled by Big Brother and his inner circle with the use of pervasive surveillance and gratuitous cruelty. Of course, anyone who has read 1984 already knows this.

Sandra Newman retells the story from the point of view of Julia, one of the minor characters from the original novel. However, there's much more to this story than just a rehash of 1984. Newman does an excellent job of fleshing out this dystopia by describing the everyday lives of its inhabitants. The reader sees it all, the small joys, the boredom, and the absolute terror.

Julia is not as bleak as 1984, but there is a sense of unease in the novel's ending, and I personally wanted something a little more hopeful. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the great job Newman did in making this story her own.

I don't normally include content warnings in my reviews, but I feel that it is necessary here.There are several graphic torture scenes that are very disturbing.

Thank you to the publisher, Mariner Books, and to Goodreads for a free copy of this book. ( )

Thank you to NetGalley the publishing for providing me with this book to review.

Sandra Newman's "Julia" is a genre-defying literary achievement that challenges the boundaries of time, identity, and human connection. This thought-provoking novel takes readers on a mind-bending journey through the life of Julia, a character who is as enigmatic as she is compelling.

The narrative of "Julia" is a complex tapestry that weaves together multiple timelines and realities, blurring the lines between dreams and waking life. Julia, the central character, experiences her existence through a series of vivid and sometimes disorienting vignettes. As readers, we are constantly challenged to discern what is real, what is imagined, and what exists in the interstitial spaces between.

Newman's prose is both mesmerizing and disorienting, mirroring the fragmented nature of Julia's consciousness. Her writing is rich in descriptive detail, creating a vivid and immersive reading experience. However, this immersive quality can occasionally be overwhelming, requiring readers to navigate through a labyrinthine narrative.

One of the book's strengths lies in its exploration of the concept of identity. Julia's identity is fluid and elusive, and the novel raises profound questions about the nature of self and the impact of memory and experience on our sense of self. Newman invites readers to contemplate the idea that our identities are not fixed but are shaped by our perceptions, relationships, and the stories we tell ourselves.

The character of Julia is enigmatic and elusive, making her a captivating but often inscrutable protagonist. Readers will find themselves drawn to her complexity and vulnerability while simultaneously feeling frustrated by her opaqueness. This paradoxical relationship with the character adds depth to the reading experience but may leave some wanting more clarity.

"Julia" is a novel that challenges conventions and expectations. It defies categorization, blending elements of literary fiction, science fiction, and psychological drama. This genre-blurring approach can be exhilarating for readers who appreciate innovative storytelling but may prove disorienting for those seeking a more straightforward narrative.

"Julia" by Sandra Newman is a daring and intellectually stimulating work of fiction that pushes the boundaries of storytelling. It is a novel that demands active engagement and rewards readers with its intricate exploration of identity, time, and the human psyche. While its unconventional narrative structure may not be to everyone's taste, those who appreciate thought-provoking literature that challenges the status quo will find "Julia" to be a captivating and memorable read. ( )

Sandra Newman's Julia—a retelling of 1984 from the perspective of Winston's love interest who was never fully fleshed out in the original novel—sounded fascinating from the start. And it is fascinating. It's one of those turn-it-over-and-over-in-your-head-for-days-after-reading titles, and I've been turning it over, but now it's time to review before too much slips my mind. Rather than trying to write an "orderly" review, I want to point out some aspects of the book that I particularly appreciated.

• First off, thank you, thank you, thank you Ms. Newman for making this cardboard cutout of a character into a lively, intelligent woman. I found the way Julia functioned primarily as someone Winston could react to in 1984 profoundly irritating.

• Second, Newman nails life in Oceania. Nails it. Julia looks at her world and sees. While Winston was embedded in his own mind, through Julia we have a vivid depiction of daily life in Oceania—community housing for unmarried women, a black market between party members and proles, a government plan to create "sex-free" (as in not requiring sex for conception) babies, endless efforts to travel the explosive territory of newspeak.

• Third, it complicates Julia's motivations in ways that are fascinating, but that I don't want to go into detail about because of spoilers.

Julia isn't just a 1984 knock-off. It builds on 1984 and respects that novel's truths, but it also offers a more complex, detailed, twisted, directed-by-unseeable-motivations world than did 1984.

I'm not sure about the ending. That's one of the turning-it-over-in-my-head items I haven't yet worked through, but this novel is very much worth reading in its own right and for the vividness it brings to Orwell's original novel.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via Edelweiss; the opinions are my own. ( )