Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
This is a damn good book with a few very strange mistakes. George Orwell describes his experiences in 1930s lower class England. The tenement houses. The economic insecurity. The first part of the book is a fantastic view into that world, a world that in some ways I am relieved doesn’t exist anymore.
But as the famous quote goes, “History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.” There are an appalling number of similarities between Orwell’s depictions of 1934s UK slum living and a more modern book like “Evicted” and its depiction of low rent housing in Milwaukee circa the early 2010s.
The book is easily split into three parts. The first part being his experiences with the coal miners and lower class of pre WW2 England. The second part being an examination of a more general class principles and more specifically Orwells part in them. And the third part being a look at socialist solutions to these problems described in the previous two parts.
The second part, chapter 10, is one of the best discussions of class and the perpetuation of class that I’ve seen. Eye opening and very clear. Orwell does seem to get bogged down with his jousting with proposed arguements against socialism and his explanations of how "we all out to be socialists."
I think Orwell is well reasoned, but it is heartbreaking that many of the criticisms of socialism have "Rhymed" their way into the 21st century. I'm still trying to pin down where my political beliefs will land, but it's mindboggling to me that we are still chasing our tail on things of this nature.
The last third of the book where he discusses criticisms of socialism and socialism as a more abstract concept seems to be disorganized to me. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, it feels very “punch, counter punch“ but I’m not aware of the boxers. I think a big part is that this is a book that is held up amazingly well through almost 100 years, but was written in response to the times. Or well is discussing what he sees as public discourse around 1930s socialism and as such she ends of shadow boxing with an opponent I struggle to clearly recognize.
But as the famous quote goes, “History doesn’t repeat, it rhymes.” There are an appalling number of similarities between Orwell’s depictions of 1934s UK slum living and a more modern book like “Evicted” and its depiction of low rent housing in Milwaukee circa the early 2010s.
The book is easily split into three parts. The first part being his experiences with the coal miners and lower class of pre WW2 England. The second part being an examination of a more general class principles and more specifically Orwells part in them. And the third part being a look at socialist solutions to these problems described in the previous two parts.
The second part, chapter 10, is one of the best discussions of class and the perpetuation of class that I’ve seen. Eye opening and very clear. Orwell does seem to get bogged down with his jousting with proposed arguements against socialism and his explanations of how "we all out to be socialists."
I think Orwell is well reasoned, but it is heartbreaking that many of the criticisms of socialism have "Rhymed" their way into the 21st century. I'm still trying to pin down where my political beliefs will land, but it's mindboggling to me that we are still chasing our tail on things of this nature.
The last third of the book where he discusses criticisms of socialism and socialism as a more abstract concept seems to be disorganized to me. I’m not quite sure what’s going on, it feels very “punch, counter punch“ but I’m not aware of the boxers. I think a big part is that this is a book that is held up amazingly well through almost 100 years, but was written in response to the times. Or well is discussing what he sees as public discourse around 1930s socialism and as such she ends of shadow boxing with an opponent I struggle to clearly recognize.
dark
emotional
informative
slow-paced
I have the biggest nerd crush on George Orwell and his magnificent brain. Part one of this book is a study of the poverty in working class Northern England after the Great War. Part two is largely about class differences in England and the difficulties facing the Socialist movement at the time. Not only is is intelligently written and well researched, it is possibly more interesting to read it living in today's society that it would have been in the 30s. Definitely worth reading and I hope to study Socialism in more depth soon!
informative
slow-paced
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
In so much of online discourse today the name of Orwell is invoked usually in reference to 1984 and usually by more conservative leaning people while critiquing the far left. I think a number of people would be quite shocked after reading this book to learn that Orwell was quite the socialist albeit a frustrated and skeptical one. He outlines issues of his day revolving around class and poverty and then criticizes socialism's adherents and the culture surrounding the political movement as being obstacles towards its acceptance and application which he feels is necessary to combat fascism and to improve society. By today's standards he would be considered unpardonably backwards with his disdain towards "Nancy poets", vegetarians, and those who wear sandals. I can only imagine what he would think of the contemporary culture of leftism with its queer theory, feminism, and intersectionality as his dislike of pistachio colored shirts and yoga is now such a laughably quaint gripe in comparison. Due to his intelligence and insight he gets at a lot of timeless problems and aspects of human society that will always be a cause for concern. He hits upon suffering, exploitation, poverty, classism, modernization, and the rising danger of machines. He also sprinkles in references to cool pieces of science fiction and literature which you might not otherwise have come across. This is the kind of work that will be worthwhile to revisit for a very long time to come and showcases his genius and his personality. In this work I didn't think he did a great job of explaining why socialism is the answer however, merely that it is and that these weirdos are making it look bad. This book could have benefited from being more "complete" or thorough perhaps but the integrity and goodness of the author shine through.
informative
reflective
slow-paced