It left me feeling like I knew myself better, and while London has changed a fair bit in the past 70 years, whilst sat on the tube I couldn't help but observe how little *people* have really changed since then. And, if nothing else, it made me realise that even in those moments of student squalor when I afford myself the most self-pity, I really do have *nothing* to complain about.

You simply won't be able to put it down.


down and down   May 27, 2004
 3 out of 7 found this review helpful

reviewed by Bogdan Tiganov, author of 11 Year Old Refugee and Romanian For Sale

Down and Out is an interesting book. autobiographical, yes, and also, like most Orwell, a hard hitting political exposee.

the problem is that we don't really care that much about the characters and maybe we're not supposed to. the result is that some of us may come away from reading this appreciation the hardships that beggars and down and out people go through. whatever the case, this is a gripping read, and stylistically perfect, the Orwell trademark. and remember: this is never boring.


Orwell that ends well!   February 4, 2004
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Although not strictly autobiographical, Down and Out (along with Wigan Pier) is Orwell's most direct comment upon the physical and psychological effects of poverty. In Down and Out Orwell is not simply concerned with listing facts about poverty and destitution, but intends to take the reader on a guided tour through the world of the dispossessed. The author's intention is always to show the reader this world rather than simply tell them about it.

Whilst it is reasonable to argue that Orwell lacks the artistic skill of contemporaries such as James Joyce and Charles Dickens (two writers whom he greatly admired), this book does point towards an author with a keen intellect and sharp wit. This is complemented by a sound grasp of linguistic strategies and literary techniques subtly employed by Orwell to draw the reader into the world being portrayed. Although the characters introduced by the narrator are only ever intended to be 'types' of their class - in the same way that the narrator himself is only intended as a representative of his class - they are, nevertheless, eccentric and highly endearing.

This is not a book that suggests answers to social problems - and was never intended to be one. It is an introduction to both the world of poverty and to an author attempting to find his voice. Down and Out is hard to define as it effectively blurs the edges of fiction and non-fiction. It is, in short, a highly enjoyable read that is both absorbing easily accessible. Highly recommended.


Definately not Down & Out after almost 80 years   November 22, 2003
 2 out of 3 found this review helpful

Fantastic book! Loved 1984 so decided to start reading Orwell from the beginning, starting with this one the first published (although his Burma novel was written earlier). The book is incredible in its content, you know that it is completely obsolete, that Paris and London today is nothing like the cities Orwell described, and the stories he tells are when thought about out of context, insignficant and uninteresting. However, the book captivated me from beginning to end, and it is Orwell's incredible writing which is timeless and incredible. If you are a fan of Orwell's more popular work, I implore you to read down and out. Never have I learnt so much from a book that taught me so little.


Informative insights   August 2, 2003
 8 out of 10 found this review helpful

In ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’, George Orwell sets off to undermine our taken-for-granted perspective on the homeless.
First, though, are his struggles as an overworked ‘plongeur’ in various hotels in Paris. He and his colleagues are permanently stressed, work impossibly long hours and have barely enough to afford a ramshackle roof over their heads. The tone is one of tragi-comedy, especially as Orwell accounts how, between jobs, he and his irrepressibly jovial Russian friend Boris get involved in increasingly desperate schemes to raise cash. Many colourful characters are met along the way, and the clear, knuckle-bare prose is damning of the whole capitalist system. He works harder than the manager and customers of his hotel in one day than they have in their lives, and all he has to show for it is a bug-strewn blanket.
Things really take off in when the action moves to London. The ordeals endured by our narrator increase tenfold – now he is out on the streets with the ‘tramps’, his only shelter coming in the form of ‘spikes’, which are little more than Victorian workhouses. The experience Orwell undergoes forces him, and us, to re-assess our views of the homeless. They are people, he says, no different to us – it is society, with its principles of material gain and rugged individualism, that have taught us to see these people as failures. Rather, they are people who have been stifled, their opportunities negated because they are the victims of an unjust society which affords privilege to those with the most money. Sounds like an obvious point. But how many of us can honestly say we wouldn’t be alarmed if a dishevelled tramp shambled towards us in a dark street?
In short, Orwell is as radical as ever, pointing out the moral wrongs that our society continues to promote.