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stephibabes's review against another edition
4.0
Orwell is always brilliant to me. This is a pointless review.
flara's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
First half of this book was absolutely brilliant. It's basically an investigation into the living and working conditions of coal miners and their place in the society. Truly eye-opening and gruesome. I found Orwell's remarks on their social standing very relevant - it's easy to perceive working class people as less-than, and yet their work is absolutely essential. The modern society would probably collapse within an hour and revert to dark ages if it wasn't for their labour. Orwell's exploration of class and his place in it (him being of bourgeois origin on a working-class salary; what it means and where he actually belongs) was also thought-provoking.
There are certain passages that are hard to swallow and very outdated, such as the comparison between 'the gypsies and decent English people' and his memories of his time in India as a policeman. And yet reading this book you will understand that majority of the views expressed are actually very progressive for its time (and maybe even today).
And then there is second part, which I just did not care about, and I'll just leave it at that.
5 starts for the first half, 2 stars for the political ramblings of a drunk uncle that you try to avoid at family gatherings. 3.5 stars overall.
There are certain passages that are hard to swallow and very outdated, such as the comparison between 'the gypsies and decent English people' and his memories of his time in India as a policeman. And yet reading this book you will understand that majority of the views expressed are actually very progressive for its time (and maybe even today).
And then there is second part, which I just did not care about, and I'll just leave it at that.
5 starts for the first half, 2 stars for the political ramblings of a drunk uncle that you try to avoid at family gatherings. 3.5 stars overall.
athousandgreatbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Coal, Poverty, and Socialism!
'The Road to Wigan Pier' is a two-part non-fictional work by Orwell (appearing in 1937, well before 'Animal Farm' and '1984'). The first part reads like a documentary that investigates the living and working conditions of the working class in England's industrial North, especially the lives of the coal-miners. Read this part to know what true drudgery is, and you will never complain about the kind of work we have in our times. There is wide-spread poverty, malnutrition, deplorable housing and living conditions, so much so that to lose one's teeth before 30 is considered a blessing ('Teeth is just a misery', a woman says).
Orwell himself spent months in these coal towns, sometimes lodging as journalist, other times masquerading as a bum to to understand the working class better. He is brutally honest in his musings and his essays in Part 2 of the book. He openly declares himself a Socialist who believes that many of the problems can be solved via Socialism. Why then aren't we all Socialists?
Orwell highlights these problems -
Class Prejudice (which is quite visceral and real, and not simply based on economics);
Abstruse language (used by the typical Socialist such as 'class consciousness', 'bourgeois ideology', and 'proletariat solidarity' - for what need is there to complicate matters when one's heart is rightly with the working class?);
Machine Worship (Orwell is highly suspicious of progress for its own sake which means nothing but the softening and degeneracy of the human being); and
Unable to concentrate on the basic Socialist ideas of Liberty and Freedom (and instead harping on about maintaining philosophical consistency and political Marxist orthodoxy); and
Cranky socialists (who bear the stigma of snobbish middle-class superiority who in no way are champions of the working class and only end up alienating plenty of decent people).
Orwell's language is always a delight but what impressed me more was his piercing insight into how people's upbringing, their mindset and their immediate cultural values impact their so-called 'political affiliation' more than any intellectual analyses of ideas could ever do.
Definitely worth checking out. Recommended by Jordon B. Peterson.
'The Road to Wigan Pier' is a two-part non-fictional work by Orwell (appearing in 1937, well before 'Animal Farm' and '1984'). The first part reads like a documentary that investigates the living and working conditions of the working class in England's industrial North, especially the lives of the coal-miners. Read this part to know what true drudgery is, and you will never complain about the kind of work we have in our times. There is wide-spread poverty, malnutrition, deplorable housing and living conditions, so much so that to lose one's teeth before 30 is considered a blessing ('Teeth is just a misery', a woman says).
Orwell himself spent months in these coal towns, sometimes lodging as journalist, other times masquerading as a bum to to understand the working class better. He is brutally honest in his musings and his essays in Part 2 of the book. He openly declares himself a Socialist who believes that many of the problems can be solved via Socialism. Why then aren't we all Socialists?
Orwell highlights these problems -
Class Prejudice (which is quite visceral and real, and not simply based on economics);
Abstruse language (used by the typical Socialist such as 'class consciousness', 'bourgeois ideology', and 'proletariat solidarity' - for what need is there to complicate matters when one's heart is rightly with the working class?);
Machine Worship (Orwell is highly suspicious of progress for its own sake which means nothing but the softening and degeneracy of the human being); and
Unable to concentrate on the basic Socialist ideas of Liberty and Freedom (and instead harping on about maintaining philosophical consistency and political Marxist orthodoxy); and
Cranky socialists (who bear the stigma of snobbish middle-class superiority who in no way are champions of the working class and only end up alienating plenty of decent people).
Orwell's language is always a delight but what impressed me more was his piercing insight into how people's upbringing, their mindset and their immediate cultural values impact their so-called 'political affiliation' more than any intellectual analyses of ideas could ever do.
Definitely worth checking out. Recommended by Jordon B. Peterson.
vortimer's review against another edition
4.0
Tried and failed to read this in school more than 30 years ago; since I've read all of Orwell's long form writing.
Tackling again Orwell's angry prose, I found it compelling, especially in the second part, both an artifact of the early thirties, and relevant to today's world.
Tackling again Orwell's angry prose, I found it compelling, especially in the second part, both an artifact of the early thirties, and relevant to today's world.
neilmartin's review against another edition
4.0
Great insight into how bad the working conditions were in England during the early 20th century and how much poverty was in the north.
Towards the end it’s a rant against machinery, fascism in Europe and a general dislike to Hitler. Impressive that Orwell saw the dangers of the far right in Europe in 1936 and earlier.
Towards the end it’s a rant against machinery, fascism in Europe and a general dislike to Hitler. Impressive that Orwell saw the dangers of the far right in Europe in 1936 and earlier.
kcrawfish's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting read, an examination of class and prejudice, as well as a time capsule to life in post WW1, pre WW2 England. The beginning detailed the bleak state of working class people in the depression-era, which evolved into the upper middle class’s view of the working class, and the deep underlying prejudice Orwell’s contemporaries had for (simultaneously) the rich as well as the poor. The latter part of the book was the more overtly political, and altogether, I’ll close how I opened, it was an interesting read.
fawkesbox's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0