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harveyrichardwilson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.0
oliviaalice_199's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
rosiefpb's review against another edition
2.0
Good in a straight-forward history of the Spanish Civil War way, but very, very dry. Some bits were interesting, but for the most part, very little actually happened. Not really my cup of tea.
penguin_emperor_of_the_north's review against another edition
4.0
That was really interesting. It alternates between Orwell describing his time with the militia in the trenches and describing the political situation within the anti-Franco forces. In the lead up to the political situation, Orwell even explains that he knows it's boring and a lot of people will want to skip it but he thinks it's important so he put it into its own chapter to make it easy to skip.
And the political stuff was a lot. A lot of acronyms, a lot of parties and trade unions, there was a lot. But once you waded through that, the explanation of how the government's reliance on Soviet aid dictated their internal politics and explained why the militias were underfunded and under equipped for the war against the Nationalists. Including making sure that Spain didn't do anything that would weaken France on the international stage because France was allied to the USSR. Gotta love the communists wanting to delay their revolution to preserve their imperialist allies.
But I do find the geopolitics things interesting myself so I found that section fascinating.
Besides that, Orwell's description of the trenches, the standoff in Barcelona and the eventual repression of the POUM was all fascinating. Partly for understanding what they were willing to endure for their ideals, partly for seeing how the truth was manipulated in favor of a narrative (glad that never happens with the modern press!) but a big part of it was a window into the past.
86 years ago now? One thing that just caught me off guard was Orwell commenting on 'what he would've given to take a picture' of some event. Forgot for a minute there that not everyone had a camera in their pocket back then.
And the political stuff was a lot. A lot of acronyms, a lot of parties and trade unions, there was a lot. But once you waded through that, the explanation of how the government's reliance on Soviet aid dictated their internal politics and explained why the militias were underfunded and under equipped for the war against the Nationalists. Including making sure that Spain didn't do anything that would weaken France on the international stage because France was allied to the USSR. Gotta love the communists wanting to delay their revolution to preserve their imperialist allies.
But I do find the geopolitics things interesting myself so I found that section fascinating.
Besides that, Orwell's description of the trenches, the standoff in Barcelona and the eventual repression of the POUM was all fascinating. Partly for understanding what they were willing to endure for their ideals, partly for seeing how the truth was manipulated in favor of a narrative (glad that never happens with the modern press!) but a big part of it was a window into the past.
86 years ago now? One thing that just caught me off guard was Orwell commenting on 'what he would've given to take a picture' of some event. Forgot for a minute there that not everyone had a camera in their pocket back then.