Thanks for this Nicholas. I agree the last few pages are the best bit. They blur into/remind me of Coming Up For Air, which is a much better book, I think. Most of his best writing on Spain is in the essays, but he was always needing to sell books...
For what it's worth, I edit a serial of Orwell's journalism (mostly the wartime Tribune columns) here on Substack. There's a lot on poetry, which may surprise some people.
Jeremy, thanks. I'll take a look at your Substack. Another thing I intended to mention was his dismissive comment on Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona which he doesn't even consider worth naming. I am not sure his aesthetic sense was as well developed as it could have been.
For many years I considered this Orwell’s greatest book. But somehow I had never read Animal Farm. During the pandemic I picked up a cheap used copy and it blew the top of my head off. Not only was it not what I thought it was, but it expressed such an empathetic view of those animals and what/who they represented.
Molly the mare leaving Animal Farm after being told that there would be no lumps of sugar or pretty ribbons after the Rebellion is as good an example of what Thomas Jefferson referred to as the “pursuit of happiness” as I can think of.
Thanks for this Nicholas. I agree the last few pages are the best bit. They blur into/remind me of Coming Up For Air, which is a much better book, I think. Most of his best writing on Spain is in the essays, but he was always needing to sell books...
For what it's worth, I edit a serial of Orwell's journalism (mostly the wartime Tribune columns) here on Substack. There's a lot on poetry, which may surprise some people.
www.orwell.substack.com.
Jeremy, thanks. I'll take a look at your Substack. Another thing I intended to mention was his dismissive comment on Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona which he doesn't even consider worth naming. I am not sure his aesthetic sense was as well developed as it could have been.
For many years I considered this Orwell’s greatest book. But somehow I had never read Animal Farm. During the pandemic I picked up a cheap used copy and it blew the top of my head off. Not only was it not what I thought it was, but it expressed such an empathetic view of those animals and what/who they represented.
Molly the mare leaving Animal Farm after being told that there would be no lumps of sugar or pretty ribbons after the Rebellion is as good an example of what Thomas Jefferson referred to as the “pursuit of happiness” as I can think of.