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A review by katykelly
Down and Out in Paris and London by Peter Hobley Davison, George Orwell
5.0
Short and illuminating autobiographical account of poverty from the author of 1984
For me, it doesn't really matter if Orwell experienced exactly these situations precisely as he account for them in this short memoir. These were real experiences that many people DID go through, and it shouldn't matter if a soon-to-be-famous writer embellished or exaggerated.
The book gives us an account of Orwell's time, before gaining employment as a writer, in the two cities of the title, at times penniless and with an empty stomach.
It is eminently readable, though for some reason I've always delayed picking it up. This I read as an audiobook and managed it in a couple of sessions. I found myself caught up in his predicaments, and shocked at how many people managed to live day-to-day, hand-to-mouth.
The restaurant work Orwell describes in detail is also shocking, the hours, the work, the conditions. How much has changed.
It makes one wonder how Orwell's experiences many have coloured his later work in 1984 and Animal Farm that I am familiar with, if he was indeed on good terms with poor living and being at the bottom of the pile and powerless.
Short novella, and a rather interesting read.
For me, it doesn't really matter if Orwell experienced exactly these situations precisely as he account for them in this short memoir. These were real experiences that many people DID go through, and it shouldn't matter if a soon-to-be-famous writer embellished or exaggerated.
The book gives us an account of Orwell's time, before gaining employment as a writer, in the two cities of the title, at times penniless and with an empty stomach.
It is eminently readable, though for some reason I've always delayed picking it up. This I read as an audiobook and managed it in a couple of sessions. I found myself caught up in his predicaments, and shocked at how many people managed to live day-to-day, hand-to-mouth.
The restaurant work Orwell describes in detail is also shocking, the hours, the work, the conditions. How much has changed.
It makes one wonder how Orwell's experiences many have coloured his later work in 1984 and Animal Farm that I am familiar with, if he was indeed on good terms with poor living and being at the bottom of the pile and powerless.
Short novella, and a rather interesting read.