A.R.S.E.

George Orwell's landmark book on the Spanish Civil War and more particularly, the loss of idealism.

Not going to say too much about this because so much has already been written by more eminent scribes than yer 'umble servant.

Easily one of the top 5 books I've ever read...and that's saying something. Utterly brilliant.

George Orwell's books are great.. i haven't read one i didn't like so far

Just finished "Animal Farm". Very clever but I preferred Homage. I guess I've heard so much about Animal Farm and I was probably so disgusted that it was less enjoyable than it might have been. Excellent observation though.

Now ploughing through "The Road to Wigan Pier" which is pretty interesting. the book is in two parts: the first is an interesting and well-conceived observation of the lifestyle of the industrial North of Britain in the mid-1930s. It's almost impossible to read it without feeling ill at the thought of how bad it was and although it wasn't that long ago, you'd think it was in the early 19th Century. You can certainly understand why the miner's union became so powerful. You can only treat people that badly for so long before they fight back. The second part is Orwell's argument for democratic socialism in Britain. It's up to the individual whether or not they subscribe to his views but it would be hard to contest the honesty of his convictions.

As a fan of the photography of Bill Brandt, Orwell provides the context and the background for a lot of the contrasts which Brandt explored in his photography.

Interesting, anyone read "Down & out in paris"?

It's next on the list. (seriously)