Library Journal
This massive tome contains a whopping 240 essays by the great English author and is the only hardcover edition of these works on the market. Many of the writings discuss literature, but Orwell's great novels are political, so that subject is covered at length as well. Wonderful to have all this in a single volume. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.
From the Publisher
Orwell is the most influential political writer of the twentieth century…He gives us a gritty, personal example of how to engage as a writer in politics.” –New York Review of Books
“[Orwell] evolved, in his seemingly offhand way, the clearest and most compelling English prose style this century…But of course he was more than just a great writer. We need him today because [of] his passion for the truth.” –The Sunday Times (London)
“Had Orwell lived to a full term, he might well have gone on to become the greatest modern literary critic in the language. But he lived more than long enough to make writing about politics a branch of the humanities, setting a standard of civilized response to the intractably complex texture of life.” –The New Yorker
“The real reason we read Orwell is because his own fault-line, his fundamental schism, his hybridity, left him exceptionally sensitive to the fissure–which is everywhere apparent–between what ought to be the case and what actually is the case. He says the unsayable.” –Financial Times
“Orwell was the conscience of his generation.” –V. S. Pritchett
FEBRUARY 2020 - AudioFile
This wonderful collection of essays is greatly enhanced by Alex Hyde-White’s attentive narration. Orwell’s essays span many topics—from his observations on Charles Dickens to his experiences in colonial Burma. His prose is varied in purpose, whether it is to relate a story, as in “Shooting an Elephant,” or to explain his writing philosophy, as in “Why I Write.” Throughout this collection, Hyde-White’s narration maintains consistency as he captures the author’s tone and intonation. When Orwell includes dialogue, Hyde-White smoothly shifts into character, as he does in “A Hanging” when he voices a Eurasian youth with a slight local accent. Throughout his reading, Hyde-White expertly guides the listener through Orwell’s fascinating ideas. D.M.W. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
