Reviews - Road To Wigan Pier

500 reviews for:

Road To Wigan Pier

George Orwell

3.82 AVERAGE

meganhowes's review against another edition

4.25

informative medium-paced

micromys's review against another edition

3.0

Orwell’s book wasn’t as I’d expected, coming across (to me at least) as a book of three parts - or three books in one. The first part of the book was the one expected, a series of essays on the industrial regions of England between the wars. These highlight the poverty and harsh realities of life, especially for mining families and those living, through necessity, in slum houses. These essays are well judged expressions of the journalistic art, a truthful insight. The next section of the book looks in more detail at the economics of living the life of a miner or the unemployed. It reminded me of Maynard Keynes and his text on the economic consequences of the peace treaty agreed at the end if the first world war. The final section is an exploration of socialism and the arguments around it. I found the first part the most engaging and informative and the book is worth reading for this alone. The economic discussion seems more remote (cold figures rather than personal observation) and the discussion on socialist argument less engaging still. Having said that the section exploring mechanisation and labour was really well delivered and leaves you thinking. Overall I still greatly prefer Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia.