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4.2 AVERAGE
4.2 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
MI5 spy (look it up), wildly overrated middle brow writer. Animal farm is a garbage allegory, and even by it’s own allegorical terms it’s completely and probably false.
It took me a long time but I finally finished this diverse collection of essays. The average rating of the 41 essays is 4 stars, which is an excellent achievement in my mind. I didn't expect to find so many essays I'd like but here it is.
Orwell has a very keen mind and manages to get to the bottom of things that interest and fascinate him in the world, be it literature, history, or politics. I really enjoyed his analyses of various authors and genres, so my selection of favourite essays is skewed towards them rather than his excellent political essays. But as is the nature of politics, the subject matter may come over as slightly more dry than a casual reader may desire, and although his thoughts on totalitarianism, communism, and nationalism are excellently presented, I wasn't always in the mood for it.
His autobiographical essays are rather more critical towards society than his political ones (well, it's rather hard to be entirely objective when it's your life you're dissecting), but there's always this glimmer of sunlight in them that turns them into painful but not depressing reads. I was especially touched by his regard for nature – he rightly observes that by living in the city one loses a deeper bond with natural cycles that enrich human life. Simple enjoyments in nature should be an integral part of life, teaching people that they share the planet and to not wantonly destroy it.
Here are some of my favourite essays in the collection:
Why I Write
Charles Dickens
The Lion and the Unicorn
In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse
Notes on Nationalism
The Sporting Spirit
The Prevention of Literature
Books v. Cigarettes
Politics and the English Language
Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Politics vs Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels
How the Poor Die
Orwell has a very keen mind and manages to get to the bottom of things that interest and fascinate him in the world, be it literature, history, or politics. I really enjoyed his analyses of various authors and genres, so my selection of favourite essays is skewed towards them rather than his excellent political essays. But as is the nature of politics, the subject matter may come over as slightly more dry than a casual reader may desire, and although his thoughts on totalitarianism, communism, and nationalism are excellently presented, I wasn't always in the mood for it.
His autobiographical essays are rather more critical towards society than his political ones (well, it's rather hard to be entirely objective when it's your life you're dissecting), but there's always this glimmer of sunlight in them that turns them into painful but not depressing reads. I was especially touched by his regard for nature – he rightly observes that by living in the city one loses a deeper bond with natural cycles that enrich human life. Simple enjoyments in nature should be an integral part of life, teaching people that they share the planet and to not wantonly destroy it.
Here are some of my favourite essays in the collection:
Why I Write
Charles Dickens
The Lion and the Unicorn
In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse
Notes on Nationalism
The Sporting Spirit
The Prevention of Literature
Books v. Cigarettes
Politics and the English Language
Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Politics vs Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels
How the Poor Die
A brilliant read. George Orwell can write about anything and make it interesting.
These were all over the place, and overall fairly dated (to be expected). Some were very interesting, a snapshot view to an event or person, while others were dealing with a then current article, and were a bit confusing. I ended up reading a few at a time during the course of a couple of months.