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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
The reason I enjoyed this so much was a) seeing life through candid and honest eyes, whether on the front lines of a civil war or in the middle of a coup, and b) learning about a topic I didn't know that much about. His reasons for writing animal farm are pretty obvious after seeing what he lived through. The candor with which he talks about the boredom and the horrors of war was stark yet welcoming. An Englishman worth admiring.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
I liked this a whole lot more than Orwell’s fiction which I roundly despise
Didn’t know much about the Spanish civil war prior to this. Now I do, thanks George. Love the olive oil as weapon lubricant fact. Didn’t realise he gets shot, turned into a thriller unexpectedly. War is terrible
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
dark
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
While I may not like Orwell as a person (and as an author, broadly) this one here is a must-read in my opinion, purely due to its historical value. I know, I know, Mine Were Of Trouble did everything Homage did, but better, and George isn't exactly the most reliable narrator, but he really picked up the slack with this one. It's not romantic, it's not a fantasy. It's real. Brutal. If you dislike the man, he gets shot in the neck by a Nationalist sniper at one point. What's not to love?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, War
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Medical content
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
I was really pleased to find this book when I did as I've been meaning to read it for quite some time. It feels instructive for a time in American history where the left is disintegrating against the right because there is so much infighting and purity testing. Orwell - or should I say "Blair" - is in top form here. Though, I will say that toward the end of the book he did something monumentally stupid (which is the same thing I would have done, but it's easier to say it's stupid when it's someone else) that my wife would have made my wife scream at me. It worked out, more or less, for him, but it was a good example of his unedited humanity.
I LOVE that he cautions the reader against his own bias because, well, we've lost that, I think, in our current age. We've forgotten that we have bias. We equate our feelings with morality because, in some cases, people have made them the same thing. People need to remember that they aren't always that way. And there is so much in this book that is relevant today. The "center left," as it were, is driving the real left underground in a shocking display of lunacy that can only hand victory to the right wing. How is it that we keep having these same arguments? Can't we learn from history?
This book is what I wish we had read instead of For Whom the Bell Tolls in my Literature of War class in college.
I LOVE that he cautions the reader against his own bias because, well, we've lost that, I think, in our current age. We've forgotten that we have bias. We equate our feelings with morality because, in some cases, people have made them the same thing. People need to remember that they aren't always that way. And there is so much in this book that is relevant today. The "center left," as it were, is driving the real left underground in a shocking display of lunacy that can only hand victory to the right wing. How is it that we keep having these same arguments? Can't we learn from history?
This book is what I wish we had read instead of For Whom the Bell Tolls in my Literature of War class in college.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
medium-paced