One of the Writer of 1984's Early Books

      Homage to Catalonia was written in 1936 by George Orwell, the same person who wrote the more popular books Animal Farm and1984. It's a first person account of his time in Spain during the Spanish Civil War while fighting against the fascists. The book is made extremely interesting by the vivid descriptions Orwell makes of everywhere he travels too. The main reason I believe that everyone should give this book a chance is because of the unique blend of autobiography and historical observations. 

       "Together with all this there was something of the evil atmosphere of war. The
town had a gaunt untidy look, roads and buildings were in poor repair, the streets
at night were dimly lit for fear of air-raids, the shops were mostly shabby and halfempty" What really draws you into Homage to Catalonia is the way George Orwell describes the cities and countryside of Spain. The descriptions are excellent and drive home that this isn't some fictitious world but rather a point in history that real people had to live through. 
   
    George Orwell's observations around the world are always present and this is shown greatly when he is describing his experience while being shot. While he does talk about what it felt like to be shot he went in great detail about the world around him indifferent to the fact that he had almost died. 

    The final reason to read Homage to Catalonia is that it keeps your attention as something is always happening. The Spanish Civil War was extremely chaotic and while I can't spoil history. The book only gets more interesting as the focus shifts from the cold mountains to the chaos before Orwell finally leaves to return to the United Kingdom. 

Comments

  1. Maxwell HeOctober 13, 2020 at 6:05 PM

    Having read a bit on George Orwell's experience in the Spanish Civil War, from introductory parts in other writings, I can tell that Orwell goes through a lot of things while in Catalonia, the most important part being the fact that he almost died.

    I also believe that many of his experiences help tell a wider story about the political and military landscape in Spain at the time. While many just think of the Spanish Civil War as Nationalists vs. Republicans, it's important to remember that while the Nationalists remained somewhat united, not suffering from anything like the 1937 May Day events. Meanwhile, Orwell was caught in the middle of a political struggle within the Republican side of the war, and when he left Spain, he essentially 'escaped' a Stalinist witch hunt against other factions on the Republican side.

    Also, I like when you mentioned civilian life in Spain, since the effects of war behind the front are very important in understanding military conflict.

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