1984 - Planet eBook

den. The best books, he perceived, are those that tell youwhat you know already. He had just turned back to ChapterI when he heard Julia’s footstep on the stair and started outof his chair to meet her. She dumped her brown tool-bag onthe floor and flung herself into his arms. It was more than aweek since they had seen one another.‘I’ve got THE BOOK,’ he said as they disentangled themselves.‘Oh, you’ve got it? Good,’ she said without much interest,and almost immediately knelt down beside the oil stove tomake the coffee.They did not return to the subject until they had beenin bed for half an hour. The evening was just cool enoughto make it worth while to pull up the counterpane. Frombelow came the familiar sound of singing and the scrapeof boots on the flagstones. The brawny red-armed womanwhom Winston had seen there on his first visit was almost afixture in the yard. There seemed to be no hour of daylightwhen she was not marching to and fro between the washtuband the line, alternately gagging herself with clothes pegsand breaking forth into lusty song. Julia had settled downon her side and seemed to be already on the point of fallingasleep. He reached out for the book, which was lying on thefloor, and sat up against the bedhead.‘We must read it,’ he said. ‘You too. All members of theBrotherhood have to read it.’‘You read it,’ she said with her eyes shut. ‘Read it aloud.That’s the best way. Then you can explain it to me as yougo.’