Why I Write by George Orwell (2004)

Why I Write

George Orwell

Publisher - Penguin - 2004

Paperback - £6.99 (£3.50 in the HMV offer)

   A few weeks ago, at a Doctor Who novel writers convention of all places, I decided I probably hadn’t read enough George Orwell.  I have read Animal Farm and 1984 many years previous but nothing more after that.  The thought continued to scratch away and then a week or two later I found myself walking out of H.M.V. with Orwell’s Why I Write in paperback and also P.J. Harvey’s Let England Shake - Demos CD. The two seemed to make a strangely complimentary purchase and it felt like the synchronicity Sat Nav had been switched on again and a road trip beckoned.

    I’m not unfamiliar with Let England Shake, in fact this is my 3^rd iteration of it after the 12 Short Films by Seamus Murphy video collection and the standard album release.

   It’s a hauntingly beautiful sepia tinted photo album of songs lamenting a lost England, as viewed perhaps by the dead of war. It’s a national love letter and a suicide confessional at the same time.  And in context of reading Orwell's writing on the state of the English and of war, it reminded me this time of 1984. Not the state control or the party slogans we all know so well but rather the lost world that the book's protagonist is desperately trying to return to. It's definitely put a revisit to Airstrip One on the itinerary.

   But back to the book in hand; Why I Write is both brilliantly written and amusingly perceptive. It also made me sad in certain places and quite angry at other times.  Its meant to do that, it goes with the subject matter.  For a collection of essays that are decades removed from their first telling, it’s still surprisingly astute. Orwell nails the English character and holds an honest mirror up to a nation at odds with itself, contradictory by its very nature. It still feels very powerful and relevant

   This edition was published as part of the Great Ideas collection by Penguin Books in 2004.  The essays inside are obviously much older although they still feel modern in style.  They are Why I Write (1946),  The Lion and the Unicorn (1940),  A Hanging (1931) and Politics and the English Language  (1946)

   It made me want to read more of his work and it also made me want to know more about the author. The former I've addressed via audible and the latter I addressed by searching the internet for a specific documentary that probably isn't going to pop up anywhere more official for a very long time to come, even though it was award winning in its day.  I loved it on first airing and I love it still.

   George Orwell: A Life in Pictures was found on Youtube although its possibly available elsewhere. It's a fictionalised documentary from 2004 and was made by the BBC. Orwell is played by actor and writer Chris Langham who gives a masterful performance that's both moving and subtly humorous.  These are Orwell's actual written words that are spoken as though captured in interviews, news reports and through film footage.  Its a perfect way to bring the man back to life and leave you feeling like you know him a little better.

   On the strength of the documentary and these first four essays, I've since tracked down the complete collection to be worked through over time. I'm also off to revisit his two most famous novels again before hopefully working my way even deeper into the back list.  Orwell remains one of our greatest writers and its a pleasure to be discovering him again and in greater depth. Cant recommend him enough.

Steve