On Gordon, the younger of his two children-and the only son-was hung the burden of “making good”. Only his father, among the ten children of the last Comstock to have done anything, had produced any offspring. Not one of its members had had any guts, any success. Gordon Comstock is already twenty nine, the youngest of, and last hope for the Comstock family to make anything of itself. It is, perhaps, not ironic that the protagonist of “Keep the Aspidistra Flying” is an aspiring poet. Almost, because his judicial and dexterous use of them elicits a pleasure that often compels the reader to go back to take in a delightful phrase once more. It is all sardonic humor and affection for all his characters.Įven more than most of Orwell’s writing, this story offers smooth reading-uncomplicated prose, so exacting and direct that it verbally brings to life scenes in which the words themselves almost disappear.

It was published in 1936, following “Down and Out in London and Paris,” “Burmese Days,” and “The Clergyman’s Daughter,” and nine years before “Animal Farm.” It may be fair to consider it the best of his fiction, as it is a marvelous story, unencumbered by analogy and didacticism. The one lesser known exception is his short, bright novel, “Keep the Aspidistra Flying.” I would go as far as to call it charming and delightful. Orwell’s novels are not exactly where you turn when you are looking for uplifting reading with happy endings.

He is exceptionally good at splitting hairs, dissecting, with surgical precision, the problems others had got wrong. With his keen mind and sharp sense of humor, he critiqued, dissected, and roasted authors, readers, the use of the English language, Gandhi, the British Empire, Socialism, Fascism, being a child, etc. He was, in addition to a novelist, a journalist and essayist, primarily concerned with the wrongs in the world and their effect on individuals. The phrase “Big Brother” itself is a literary creation of Orwell.Īll of Orwell’s work touches on politics and class structure. Even for people who haven’t actually read these works, the adjective “Orwellian” elicits thoughts of oppressive, government-controlled society, where “Big Brother” is watching. Perhaps they have also read his futuristic (when it was written) “1984.” Orwell’s name has become synonymous with dystopian political fiction. Most people, when asked if they’re familiar with the works of George Orwell, will answer that they had read “Animal Farm” in high school.

George Orwell’s novels are not exactly where you turn when you are looking for uplifting reading with happy endings.

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