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There are very few books that will make you laugh, completely horrify you, reveal the worst, most immoral, frustrating, and insane yet logical aspects of human nature and society, whilst leaving you totally shaken at the end, and just as baffled by the realisation that you have enjoyed every emotion-wrenching page thoroughly. This is one of those few books.
Personally, I was in absolute hysterics by the final page, despite the fact that this is an incredibly horrifying novel, and not least because of its relevance to reality. This isn't to say that I was laughing all the way through, though. Frustrated, shell-shocked, angry, depressed, upset, baffled, and finally, giggling like an imbocile: 'Emotional rollercoaster' does not do Catch-22 justice! ]]>
This is probably the best piece of writing I have read all year. The descriptive first section is bleak, grotesque and captivating. Reading certain recounts of Sheffield and Wigan at their most horrendous, you can almost see the landscape for Orwell's '1984' already forming. The solution to the squalor he witnesses, given in the second section, is Socialism; which is argued almost well enough to convince me (who has grown up in a household so Tory that both parents voted William Hague in the 1997 General Election), that it is the most desirable system to implement. I recognise a hell of a lot of my own prejudices in Orwell's writing, and also the battle between upbringing and learning: both constantly moving to contradict the other. My friend has always called me, tongue-in-cheek, a 'Socialist Tory'. I think the pendulum has swung, yet again, to the former for the time-being. But whatever my thoughts on politics, this book is phenomenal - and I 'enjoyed' (if that's the right word) it more than Down and Out in Paris and London. ]]>
Laura
read and liked
Tristessa's
review of The Road to Wigan Pier (Penguin Modern Classics):
"In the first half of The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell catalogues his participant/observation of the economically deprived North of England focusing on squalor, pollution and hardship during the Depression. Wigan Pier is a dystopic bleak vision of degra...more "
"In the first half of The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell catalogues his participant/observation of the economically deprived North of England focusing on squalor, pollution and hardship during the Depression. Wigan Pier is a dystopic bleak vision of degra...more "
Laura
added a quote:
"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." — Salman Rushdie
"What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist." — Salman Rushdie
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA ]]>
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Laura wrote:
"Haha but u know who George Orwell is?!
This one's really good :) xxx " |
see all comments ]]>
This gets three stars, because I have no idea how to rate it. It is very easy to read, and the perspective is interesting; but it's impossible to believe that the 9 year-old narrator can be so dense as to not realise what's happening next to his home. And even though he is meant to be a German, he can't pronounce Auschwitz, calling it 'Out-With', or 'Fuhrer', which is 'Fury'. This makes no sense. Still, it is a hugely different view of the Holocaust, and the ending was heart-breaking, even though it required an unbelievable amount of stupidity on the part of two 9 year olds, which is impossible to realistically believe. All in all, it's not the best written, or the cleverest book ever, but it is emotive. At least, it must be, because I feel slightly sick and far more despressed than I was when I started reading, and that hardly ever happens. ]]>