This critique is timeless, as it can so readily be applied to our own society.įundamentally, Gordon was opposed to the idea of having money and the whole notion that society gives respect to those who have money and ‘stable’ jobs, above anything else. However, I fully sympathized with the struggles and misfortune of Gordon Comstock and felt that the dialogue acted as an enlightening critique of the society that Orwell and many others were living through. Others have dismissed this book as just pages of winging monologue, from a failed and depressed creative wannabe. Within this, we see a vision into the world Orwell so despised, and the society in which he himself, did not feel part of.Īs soon as I had finished this, I knew instantly that it was my new favourite book, and possibly the best Orwell (so far) that I have read. In trying to follow his heart and stick to his morals, he embarks on living in a world of self-inflicted squalor, poverty and pain.

Gordon desperately did not want to become part of the capitalist, class stricken world that he found himself in, whilst working as a copywriter for an advertising industry.

Gordon will have to somehow over come his natural opposition to this, if he is to maintain his relationship and devotion to Rosemary. Having money gives you everything in a capitalist driven society. The thing is, at the route of all success, whether that be family, romance, or friendships, is money. It begins to affect his relationship with wonderful Rosemary who he very much loves, and impacts his friendships. Living in such a futile, poverty stricken existence, soon sucks the life out of Gordon’s writing ambition. Every literary person’s dream, huh?īut the realities of living in self enforced deprivation soon take their toll. Gordon quits working at the advertising firm and instead spends his days being a bookseller, whilst trying to write. However, Gordon soon realises that ploughing on with this goes against anything he stands for. He is wasting his literary talents on an industry that he cannot morally support but is reaping the benefits for the sake of having a good job and monetary stability. He’s a slave to an advertising industry that he despises. This time, with a book which was published 84 years ago. Thus, I once again returned to reading some Orwell. Yes, it may seem kind of strange to be banging on about his writing so many years on but his work will never not be relevant, regardless of the type of society we live in.

Publisher: Penguin, Modern Classics (2000/1936)

Keep the aspidistra flying review