Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell's memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is an account of living on the bread-line in Paris and the experience of casual labor in restaurant kitchens. The second part is a travelogue of life on the road in and around London from the tramp's perspective, with descriptions of the types of hostel accommodation available and some of the characters to be found living on the margins.
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Down and Out in Paris and London is George Orwell's memoir in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is an account of living on the bread-line in Paris and the experience of casual labor in restaurant kitchens. The second part is a travelogue of life on the road in and around London from the tramp's perspective, with descriptions of the types of hostel accommodation available and some of the characters to be found living on the margins.
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A thread running through all Orwell's writing is a search for human goodness in the face of adversity, callousness, and the all too human thirst for power. He has a keen eye upon the world around him, be it in Burma, Catalonia, Oceana, or the mean streets of Paris and London, and sees clearly that threads of humanity lie more often in individuals rather than in social institutions.
JEL1947
Feb 20, 2014
A Nice Introduction to Orwell
This book is a nice introduction to George Orwell's writing. He and other young Englishman like Patrick Leigh Fermor in the twenties and thirties took to the road and wrote about it. His observations about Paris and London life from the bottom looking up are interesting and, as seems the case when looking at life from this perspective, similar. The book is not too long and the writing engages you. It is free of political perspectives and just what you might expect from someone who wanted to find out what life was like on a tight budget. The restaurant kitchen scenes, after watching Food Network's Restaurant Impossible, are not shocking.
mishv
Oct 23, 2008
gritty read that orwell is well known for
Not a cheery book, but for anyone who enjoys realism in writing or stories of hardship, this is the ticket for you. You won't feel broke after you read this book.