Janet Posted December 12, 2011 Share Posted December 12, 2011 Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell The ‘blurb’ ‘Every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly, against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism as I understand it.’ Thus wrote Orwell following his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War, chronicled in Homage to Catalonia. Here he brings to bear all the force of his humanity, passion and clarity, describing with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic episode. This was the penultimate of Orwell’s ‘full sized’ books that I had left to read. It deals with the Spanish Civil War – a subject I knew very little about. I must admit that I had been putting this one off as I thought it might be a bit dry. At the age of 33, Orwell headed to Spain, after getting the necessary paperwork from the British ILP (Independent Labour Party) to allow him access to the country under the guise of being their correspondent, and he enlisted in the POUM (Workers' Party of Marxist Unification) to be trained as a soldier. He discovers that the group are ill-equipped to go to war, many of them being just seventeen or eighteen years of age, and none of them having any decent equipment, but they are sent to the Aragón front where they stay for several months. Orwell is frustrated by the lack of decent weapons, but somehow he survives (despite getting shot in the throat!) and is ultimately sent back to Barcelona where he gets caught up in a conflict over a Telephone Exchange (as unlikely as that seems!). His wife Eileen is in Spain with him during the war. Ultimately the Orwells, together with many other members of the POUM have to leave Spain in a hurry. It’s not as dry as I expected it to be and I found it most enjoyable. I found Orwell’s writing this book as enjoyable as in others, although Down and Out in Paris and London remains my favourite of his non-fiction full-length books. In this one, a bit of Orwell’s human side comes out. At one point, his hotel room is raided by plain clothed policemen, searching for evidence of Orwell’s involvement with POUM, it having been declared an illegal organisation at the start of the conflict, and they remove all of Orwell’s paperwork. He laments its loss, and is largely concerned with the fact that they had taken letters he had yet to reply to. He writes “incidentally, they took a number of letters I had received from readers. Some of them have not been answered, and of course I have not the addresses. If anyone wrote to me about my last book, and who did not get an answer, happens to read these lines, will he please accept this as an apology?” – it is great to hear that Orwell cared enough to reply to his readers and was concerned that he hadn't done so. One thing that amused me was his thoughts on Sagrada Família, the famous Catholic church in Barcelona. “...I went to have a look at the cathedral - a modern cathedral, and one of the most hideous buildings in the world...” LOL – this is on my ‘to do’ list – I really want to see it. Clearly Orwell wasn’t impressed! The book contains two appendices – formerly chapters 5 and 11 – which concentrate on the politics of the war. Orwell urges the reader to “skip” these if they are not interested in the deep politics of the situation. I must admit to having skim read them! The rest of the book was really enjoyable though and it is with a little sadness that I look forward to my last full-length offering of his, Burmese Days, knowing it is the last for me apart from the essays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paun Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 I just come from Burma and so was thinking about book Burmese days. Very sure book about burma before but sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catwoman Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 That sounds fascinating. One that I will be adding to the wishlist. What a fab review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Good Citizen Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I have yet to read Burmese Days either, I read Homage to Catalonia directly after reading the battle for spain by Anthony Bevor which really helped me appreciate the background to Orwell's account. I went to Barcelona a few weeks later and headed strating to the Square named after him as a personal Homage to Geroge Orwell. Road to Wigan Pier and Down and Out in particular are also brilliant books and like you it will be a shame once I've read all his back catalogue. Not only is he one of my favourite Authors he is just an inspirational character from history. He had a tremendous perspective on poverty in recognising his middle class background would not allow him to ever fully understand it. His work is often as open and questioning of himself and his reaction to situations as to the situations themselves. Just a fascinating inspirational individual and on my short list of people from history I would have loved to have met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janet Posted January 12, 2012 Author Share Posted January 12, 2012 I'm *so* sorry - I've only just seen these replies! That sounds fascinating. One that I will be adding to the wishlist. What a fab review! Thanks - I hope you enjoy it. Just a fascinating inspirational individual and on my short list of people from history I would have loved to have met. His books on poverty - both fiction and non-fiction - have been my favourites. He just understood it so well. I would love to go and visit his square! Barcelona is on my 'to do' list, so maybe one day. I'd have loved to have met him too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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