George Orwell

George Orwell was born in June, 1903 No, he wasn t George Orwell was born in January, 1933 Actually, both are true What is there something Orwellian here are we to entertain contradictory statements without being aware of the contradiction Are we in the foothills of double think OK, then, let me clarify Eric Arthur Blair, who was to become George Orwell, was indeed born in June, 1903 Although he had previously published some minor articles with the by line E A Blair, the pen name by which he is [...]

CELEBRITY DEATH MATCH REVIEW Divine Comedy versus 1984Due to the lightening of the stifling religiosity that once held sway o er continental Europe, the caverns, grottoes and circles that once were known collectively as Hell lay all but dormant for a fair few years.Then this guy called Virgil, with his mate Bird Brian Brains, started up an excursion business, and also started letting out areas for film crews, authors and any number of conspiracy theorists The most lucrative was this and maybe no [...]

This is a perceptive and well written biography of a complex, eccentric and flawed man Bowker does a great job coming to grips with his subject, whose life he details in straightforward chronological order He occasionally engages in some unnecessary speculation of the Orwell must have thought variety, but not so often that it adversely affects his credibility as a biographer Bowker s prose is clear and uncomplicated and if the list of sources is any indication his research appears to be thorough [...]

An Inside Look at a GREAT AuthorThe title is indeed descriptive as the author probes the inner workings of the great author Eric Blair aka George Orwell Bowker exposes the dualism of Blair Orwell to describe many of the man s layers.Blair, in his twenties, was a policeman for the British colonialist empire in Burma He came to loathe the job and what he did Just what he did can only be conjectured but one can imagine the power of a colonial authority in Burma in the early 1900 s.In later years Ge [...]

Digs up some interesting biographical details but runs out of analytical steam, particularly towards the end The concluding chapter is a mess and there are significant typographical errors and stylistic idiosyncracies.

In my college days I read everything by George Orwell that I could get my hands on Since it was the early 70s, this meant all of the published novels, essays, and reviews Today there is much available, including diaries and letters, and this recent material I have not read Mainly, I think, I loved the clarity of his writing It was his voice and his ability to give clear expression to an idea, rather than his politics or ability to tell a story, that attracted me I recall that he had expressly [...]

He was Eric A Blair for much of his life Born into an upper middle class English family, he endured the harsh, even brutal, environments of a convent school and then English boarding schools including Eton Of his experience at the convent school the following anecdote offers a hint When we were children we had a story that after Robin Hood was done to death in the Priory, his men raped murdered the nuns, burned the priory to the ground It seems this has no foundation in the ballads we must have [...]

I read this book for my BA thesis, but it was actually quite an interesting read which made me want to know about Orwell It s very detailed, it accentuates the childhood of the author probably as an influence of the man himself he declared that the childhood of an individual is essential in its forming Gordon Bowker did a great job tried to illustrate the great author and the great man through letters, articles and fragments from the journals of Orwell s friends He also kind of separated Eric A [...]

My first biography read to learn about the person rather than as history to learn about the time in which they lived George Orwell, born Eric Blair, is familiar to most as the author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four, his last two and most famous novels, written just before his death from TB in 1950 at the age of 46 The book is well researched, presenting Orwell as the extremely complex person that he was, womanizer, journalist, anti Imperialist, and political activist attacking the Left [...]

This biography is certainly not fawning, Bowler doesn t shirk from the undesirable qualities of his subject Nevertheless, this is a good introduction to Eric Blair the man and George Orwell the author I especially appreciated his underlining the fact that with Animal Farm and 1984 , Orwell was attacking Stalinism and Communism from the left Labour party style Socialism Those on the right who twisted his works for their own ends need constant reminding of this fact In an age when people felt com [...]

I read this book for an assignment and it definitely had than enough information for me to use I m also genuinely interested in reading biographies and I legitimately enjoyed reading it It wasn t the most fun book I ve ever read but I still liked it.

to be honest, it was so poorly written i gave up reading it conventionally before i even reached 100 pages, and just decided to flick through the index, reading segments on subjects i m most interested in.

Not as good as most literary biographies

Superb warts and all biography of Orwell, whose analysis of Orwell s complicated personality enhances the reader s understanding of his work Full of insight, intelligence and empathy.

A workmanlike job Informative but rarely inspired An effort to finish,

Read in 2004

Didn t finish this Readable enough, but too little focus on Orwell s writing Book should be at least a third shorter Read Hitchens on Orwell instead.

I enjoyed this biography of Orwell Even after studying Orwell off and on for fifteen years now, there were bits and pieces presented in this biography that were new to me.

I chose the audio version At first it took a little settling into and then I was hooked and will probably listen again.