Ethan's review
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (Harvest Book)
by George Orwell
Ethan's review
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (Harvest Book) by George Orwell
Ethan's review
rating:
Orwell's catalogue is done a great disservice by the public school system that offers Animal Farm and 1984 as fictional evidence of the poverty of Soviet Communism. This ignores two important qualities in their author: he was a committed British Socialist, and he was a prolific novelist.
Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a novel of characters first and a social critique second. Orwell gives his poet-unhero a confessional inner dialogue that makes his 1984 counterpart feel like a campaign poster. The romance has more breathing room than 1984 fans are used to also. But in the midst of its character sketching, the social content is not sacrificed. The poet is, of course, penniless and struggles with his rejection of consumerism while needing a little spare change to make his work and relationships work.
The read is well worth it and you'll come to care for several characters. For a film adaptation that is fun with decent acting see "A Merry War".
Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a novel of characters first and a social critique second. Orwell gives his poet-unhero a confessional inner dialogue that makes his 1984 counterpart feel like a campaign poster. The romance has more breathing room than 1984 fans are used to also. But in the midst of its character sketching, the social content is not sacrificed. The poet is, of course, penniless and struggles with his rejection of consumerism while needing a little spare change to make his work and relationships work.
The read is well worth it and you'll come to care for several characters. For a film adaptation that is fun with decent acting see "A Merry War".
