Keep the Aspidistra Flying

George Orwell

Mar 1969 · Sold by HMH

About this ebook

A novel by the author of 1984 about a man determined to reject middle-class values who finds living in noble poverty more difficult than expected.
 
Gordon Comstock despises the materialism and shallowness of middle-class life—the worship of money, the striving for dull, stuffy respectability. To live up to his ideals, he quits his lucrative position as an advertising copywriter and devotes himself to poetry and other high-minded pursuits.
 
But low-paid part-time employment and a constant shortage of cash is not exactly conducive to creativity and happiness. The stress even causes him to lash out at his devoted girlfriend, Rosemary, who he suspects of preferring a richer man. This sharply witty novel about the difficulties of idealism and the effects of financial strain is yet another outstanding read from the genius who brought us Animal Farm, Down and Out in Paris and London, and other enduring works.

Ratings and reviews

If you've read any of Orwell's more popular works, you'll probably find yourself knowing how the book ends within the first or second chapter. Regardless, I still enjoyed the book. In fact, it was very hard to put it down for a long period of time. I completed it in maybe 3 or 4 sittings over 2 days. Nothing is held back in giving a realistic picture of semi-poverty in 1930's England. It's one of those books that can horrify you on one page and make you smile the next. My only complaint would be that the final chapters seemed a bit rushed.

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About the author

GEORGE ORWELL (1903–1950) was born in India and served with the Imperial Police in Burma before joining the Republican Army in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell was the author of six novels as well as numerous essays and nonfiction works.