Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

[Janet]

 

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

 

The �blurb�

Orwell's lively and factual record of his experiences among the poor of two capital cities. Few writers have possessed a greater gift for spotting the personality behind the rags, or described the reality of poverty with so little pretence.

 

Like The Road to Wigan Pier, this book is a social commentary about the lives of ordinary lower-class people living on, or below, the breadline.

 

The first 23 chapters look at Orwell�s life in the slums of Paris where he finds himself living in a squalid, bug-infested �hotel� which is really little more than a doss house. At first he was able to make a little money by giving English lessons, but they soon came to an end and he had to pawn most of his possessions.

 

Thanks to a friend, Boris, he got a job working fifteen hours a day as a Plongeur (basically someone who washes up!) in a hotel working in hot, dirty conditions for very little money. After moving to a hotel with better prospects, only to end up doing the same job for even longer hours, Orwell decided to head back to England and with financial help from a friend he reclaimed his belongings from the pawn shop and purchased a ticket back to the UK, where he had been promised a job taking care of an �imbecile�.

 

However, on returning to England, the start date for his new job was delayed for a month so he sold his clothes and took to the road (after a brief spell trying different boarding houses). He befriended a tramp called Paddy and they travelled together, sometimes walking as many as 18 miles a day between various towns, staying at �The Spike� - a colloquial term for the Workhouse.

 

A vagrant was only allowed to spend one night per month at a particular institution - any longer, or to return within a month, meant prison. Here they swapped their squalid clothes for a uniform (whilst their clothes were fumigated), a bath, a bed and some little, poor quality food. In the morning, they would perform various duties to �pay for their keep� before being given a meal of bread and cheese to take with them, or a voucher for exchange at a local caf�.

 

There were various ways for people on the road to get a meal, including soup kitchens, visiting churches (where they would get a good meal but then have to attend a religious service before being allowed to leave), but mostly society felt that these people chose to live like this without looking at the reasons they�d ended up having such a life, so they were treated badly, their diet was poor and life was very hard.

 

Of course, for Orwell, although he lived amongst these people and lived exactly like them, he had the safety net of family and friends - this way of life for him was really so that he could observe the living conditions in order to write firstly essays on homelessness and then later this book.

 

Orwell�s writing style is very easy and he has real empathy for these people and therefore writes with sympathy and compassion. It�s a fascinating read and one I really enjoyed.

 

The paperback is 189 pages long and is published by Penguin. The ISBN number is 978-0141184388.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Janet

[chesilbeach]

I read this about 15 years ago and it still sticks in my mind as a great piece of writing. I'd only read one novel by Orwell (1984 which I had to read for Sociology 'A' level at school), and wasn't impressed by it, so have never read any of his other fiction. Someone suggested that I might still like his non-fiction, so I tried this, and it was an engrossing, interesting read.

 

I've had Homage to Catalonia on my TBR pile for about a year now, but I'm hoping to read it in the not too distant future!

[Chimera]

Thanks for this review Janet! I'll have to try it. Strangely I never thought of looking at Orwells other books after reading (severa times) 1984, which I loved.

[Pilgrim]

Long time ago here too but when I think about survival on the streets I have recollections of this.

[Paul]

Homage to Catalonia is definitely worth reading. And, yes, Orwell writes well, very well indeed. I would read anything he wrote.

[sadya]

I read it some years ago, but never finished the last few pages. Don't exactly know why. I liked it enough to keep it for another read some day. That was a few years ago. Still have to reread it and this time also the last few pages.This thread is a good reminder for that.

[Anika]

Thanks for the review!

 

I recently read an essay by Orwell online about when he worked in a bookshop, but have never read any of his books. This looks like a good one to start with!

[joe]

This is my favourite Orwell book, you have reminded me that i must re read it

[FaustoMerckx]

I've had it sat on my shelf for a while. Picked it up because I like reading the beat generation stuff and books about hardship and survival and guessed it would sit somewhere in the middle. I'll get round to reading it soon.

An excellent book I've read in the same vein is 'An autobiography of a supertramp' by WH Davies, I'd recommend it to anyone. Laurie Lee's 'As I walked out one midsummer morning' is also a similar and brilliant book

[Janet]

I like the sound of An autobiography of a Supertramp - thanks for the recommendation.

 

I'm not buying any more books until after Christmas though, but I'm fairly certain of getting some Waterstone's vouchers for Christmas because I purchased them for my mother-in-law and my Aunt to give me so I shall see if I can get it then - thanks for the recommendation.

 

I have As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning on my to read pile.

[Thomas]

I read this a year or two ago, but I remember it vividly. It is one of those books that stays in your mind for days after you finish it.

 

I think one reason for this

[Raskolnikov]

I really like this book as well. Some kind of Jack London poverty which Orwell experienced as well. This really comforts me with the idea that a dense piece of creation is deeply rooted to the experience of solitude and suffering.

here is a link to Orwell's diary updated daily http://orwelldiaries.wordpress.com/

[FaustoMerckx]

Finally read it. Great book. The thought of sleeping on a festering, bug ridden bed, wrapped in putrid, sweat soaked sheets with a toothless, old tramp breathing and coughing in my face will haunt my dreams for weeks though!

[chesilbeach]

Saw on the BBC News website today, that this is being adapted for the big screen. Will definitely require a re-read before I see it in the cinema. Here's the article if anyone is interested: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17562252

[Janet]

I don't know how I missed your post, Claire, considering Orwell is probably my favourite author. I have seen this article and I can't wait.