Joseph's review
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (Harvest Book) by George Orwell
Smart little(supposedly semi-autobiographical) look by Orwell at the "money world", and what it means to live in it as an artist. Not up to the level of 1984 or Animal Farm (what is, though, really?), but still a highly enjoyable satire of both the indiginities of capitalism and the pretensions of the so-called starving artist.
Gordon Comstock is an aspiring poet who, upon noticing that he's almost 30 and nearly "moth-eaten" already, declares war on the "money-god" and makes a resolution never to "Make Good" (Make Good in this instance meaning get a well-paying, but soul-killing, middle-class job). Orwell does a good job of simulataneously detailing how the subject of money trumps everything and debases all while presenting Gordon as an insufferable ass for thinking he should float above the ordinary world simply because he has creative inclinations. Good antidote for conservatives who want to claim Orwell (he was a staunch Britist socia...more
Gordon Comstock is an aspiring poet who, upon noticing that he's almost 30 and nearly "moth-eaten" already, declares war on the "money-god" and makes a resolution never to "Make Good" (Make Good in this instance meaning get a well-paying, but soul-killing, middle-class job). Orwell does a good job of simulataneously detailing how the subject of money trumps everything and debases all while presenting Gordon as an insufferable ass for thinking he should float above the ordinary world simply because he has creative inclinations. Good antidote for conservatives who want to claim Orwell (he was a staunch Britist socia...more
