Orwell the activist is outraged at injustice and uncompromising in his moral sense he sees people as a collection of allies and enemies, taking part in a grand struggle to bring about a better society. Orwell the writer is captivated by the rhythms of words, the sounds of sentences he loves ruminating on a strange personality or a memorable story he is enchanted by the details of daily life. There are two sides of the man, sometimes in harmony, and sometimes at odds: the writer and the activist. Something that repeatedly struck me while reading this collection was an inner conflict in Orwell’s worldview. It is fiery, angry, and political, while remaining intimate, human, and honest. It is unmistakably modern, even sleek, while obviously informed by the tastes and standards of the past. His style can accommodate both the abstract and the concrete, the homely and the refined, the pretentious and the vulgar his prose can satisfy both the academic and the artist, the intellectual and the layperson, the Panurge and the parish priest. Orwell’s writing is, for me, a model of modern prose. It was rather-and I feel somewhat silly saying this-for his writing style. That is more than mere survival.Īnd yet it isn’t for his political insights that I opened this collection of essays. His dystopian novel recently became a surprise best-seller, almost seventy years after its initial publication. Orwell himself said that the “final test of any work of art is survival,” and his works seem on track to pass this final test. Far from becoming irrelevant, his works seem to become more significant with each passing year (as most recently evidenced by the present administration’s strained relationship with the truth). George Orwell is one of the inescapable writers of the last century. What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art. Summertime in Andalucía: Málaga and SurroundingsĢ023: New Year… on From Gold to Glory: A Slice of…Ģ023: New Year… on Summertime in Andalucía: Three…Ģ023: New Year… on Summertime in Andalucía: …Ģ023: New Year… on Summertime in Andalucía: Jerez….
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