The Road to Wigan Pier

The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell

Harcourt Books, 1958

Originally published 1937

232 pages

Non-fiction

Did you know George Orwell was a pen name? I didn't until I looked up his wikipedia page prior to my class discussing this book.

Summary: Orwell investigated conditions for the working class and it turned into a discussion about socialism.

Thoughts: There are some very vivid examples in this book such as the coal miner whose black thumb print covers the bread and the statement that middle class children are told that the working classes smell, basically from birth. This creates conditions where those who might be sympathetic to socialism and would benefit more from it than from capitalism look down on the socialists. The language used also pushes people away. It's especially remarkable because the book opens with a letter from the people distributing the book, disclaiming some of the attitudes expressed. It definitely encourages me to get started on reading "1984."

Overall: 4/5. I prefer his fiction but this is very readable and raises some interesting issues.

Animal Farm

I read Animal Farm as part of my FITG challenge. I feel like many of my friends read this for school and felt left out that I hadn't (I'm kind of a nerd). I also liked that it was short! One interesting part of the copy I read was that it was in English and French; if I read French, I bet it would have been interesting to examine the translation.

I found AF to be a quick and pretty easy read. I can see why teachers assign it. I don't really have anything else to say; I just want to document that I read it for FITG.

Line: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."

Overall: 5 out of 5. Very good; highly recommended for all.