George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984 changed the way readers across the world thought about authoritarian rule when it was first published in 1949. Almost 70 years later, the classic has climbed the charts to number one on the bestseller list, beginning to rise after President Donald Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway commented on false reporting from White House leaders as “alternative facts.”

Eerily similar to 1984’s “doublethink” and “newspeak,” Conway’s comment, along with other unsupported claims made by the Trump administration, echoes the actions of the government in the novel. Doublethink refers to the ability of the mind to accept two contradicting arguments at the same time and newspeak is ambiguous language used in political propaganda to, in Orwell’s own words, “diminish the range of thought.” These words, coined by Orwell and now implemented into the English language, have risen to the forefront of pop culture as readers draw connections in between the American political climate and the authoritarian dictatorship of Big Brother in the book.

1984 and similar dystopian novels revolve around worlds where freedom of speech, freedom of press, and essentially, the freedom to think are repressed. The government is totalitarian, and carefully administered propaganda aims to control all intellectual aspects of life. The book sends a powerful message about the dangers of conformity and how easily a similar situation could happen in real life, and many people are beginning to fear a political environment in the real world that discourages free speech and backlash to the government.

The book’s sales are rising internationally as well, despite some comments that trying to make connections between the world of 1984 and the current Trump administration is pointless. Some arguments say that the government in 1984 meticulously controls every aspect of society, not letting anything slip past its fingers, while the Trump administration is much less organized and will not be able to come close to absolute control.

However, even with an American president who has claimed to not read much at all, readers around the world are turning to literature for a better understanding of the dangers of an oppressive government. Whatever you may feel about the connections people are making between the book and politics today, it is impossible to ignore the power of literature in the current world.

Perhaps the President himself should consider picking up 1984.