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A review by antereb
Keep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell
3.0
This book would have been so good if it was not for the blatant misogyny.
Lots of readers seem to dislike this book because of the self-piteous and unlikable main character but to be perfectly honest, I think Gordon makes some great points and I don't think that he just stands for an artist's struggle. Gordon is a symbol for a human enslaved by capitalism and the class critique is insanely great. Orwell's message transcends pre-war England, it still applies today and that is, for me at least, a sign of a well written story. The ending fits the whole premise - a corrupt society will corrupt you, unless you choose complete alienation or death.
What bugged me (and was no surprise) was the misogyny that made me want to give this book no stars. Women are depicted as brainless, greedy, intellectually inferior beings. Rosemary is "too dumb" to understand Gordon's reasonings, women merely care about whether or not a man has money and are demonised for doing so. Given that women could not work respectively, could no longer work once they were married it is not unreasonable to select husbands that way. Furthermore, Gordon tries to coerce Rosemary into having sex with him and gets mad when she refuses. He kisses her against her will and sexually assaults her which is just disgusting. And there is no defending for Orwell, other books exist (among them WE, the story that 1984 is a shitty retelling of) with women who are not just dumb sex objects and/or obstacles for men. I don't know if I'll ever pick up another story of Orwell because his female characters are all the same and if he loathed us so much, he should have written more homoerotic stories.
Lots of readers seem to dislike this book because of the self-piteous and unlikable main character but to be perfectly honest, I think Gordon makes some great points and I don't think that he just stands for an artist's struggle. Gordon is a symbol for a human enslaved by capitalism and the class critique is insanely great. Orwell's message transcends pre-war England, it still applies today and that is, for me at least, a sign of a well written story. The ending fits the whole premise - a corrupt society will corrupt you, unless you choose complete alienation or death.
What bugged me (and was no surprise) was the misogyny that made me want to give this book no stars. Women are depicted as brainless, greedy, intellectually inferior beings. Rosemary is "too dumb" to understand Gordon's reasonings, women merely care about whether or not a man has money and are demonised for doing so. Given that women could not work respectively, could no longer work once they were married it is not unreasonable to select husbands that way. Furthermore, Gordon tries to coerce Rosemary into having sex with him and gets mad when she refuses. He kisses her against her will and sexually assaults her which is just disgusting. And there is no defending for Orwell, other books exist (among them WE, the story that 1984 is a shitty retelling of) with women who are not just dumb sex objects and/or obstacles for men. I don't know if I'll ever pick up another story of Orwell because his female characters are all the same and if he loathed us so much, he should have written more homoerotic stories.