Homage to Catalonia

Excellent

A very well read and well written book. The narrator sounds exactly like I would expect George Orwell to sound. This is a great version of a powerful book

13 of 13 people found this review helpful

Reality bites

This is my third Orwell book after Animal Farm and 1984. It was good to dip a toe into his essayistic writing, this was certainly as compelling as a novel and you would be forgiven for thinking it was.



It is well narrated and you certainly won't want it to come to an end. The mixture of historical lesson and insight to the human condition is an engaging blend. You can recognise the politics of the author of the above mentioned novels (unwritten at this time) and the integrity and courage of the man shines like a beacon through the book.



Good for anyone either interested in Orwell as a writer outside of fiction or for an insight into a period of history that was massively influential to the freedom we enjoy in Europe today.



highly recommended

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

When men believed that war was peace

In its time a very controversial book for the European left, especially the Russian controlled communist parties and the beginning of the disillusionment of a great writer with the ideas and consequences of totalitarian power (Stalinist) and the party that controlled that centralisation.
Here we see the genesis of 1984, and his final unmasking of the crimes committed in the name of a new faith, a new religion as ferocious and intransigent as the worst religions.
The language is clear and direct and feels contemporary. So much so I could not stop thinking of the Syrian similarities, the young men thinking they will change everything with a single vision of what is correct, the naivete that wars can be just or controlled, that ideals will defeat established powers, that there is honour in the business of killing, the fragmentation of the belief into competing militias, the use of children to fight demagogues wars .
Orwell is blinded with his vision of a better world but is an exceptional reporter and describes his experience in Spain's civil war ( 1936 to 1939) with stark uncensored realism that captures more than just the image he wants to present but a reality that can be studied from different angles, not just the one given by the writer. He also warns that his reporting might be tainted by his ideals or beliefs a first in my experience with writers.
The use of acronyms is baffling because they are given as if everyone knew their meaning but Orwell explains in his appendices the meaning and the animosities of all these factions of the left.
This is a very personal book, of one man’s limited experience (from December 1936 until June 1937) in what was a long bloody war. It explains his reasons and his view of why the war started in a very of the period and party line explanation. For a broader historical point of view I would look else where.
If you like Orwell this is a must read.
The narration was excellent it made Me think I was listening to the writer.

32 of 36 people found this review helpful

An important book beautifully read

Very finely narrated classic account of the civil war in Spain in the 1930s. Unsentimental and surprising in some respects. Orwell like many others went from a somewhat privileged background in England to fight for the forces of the left arrayed against the fascist forces of Franco. He went somewhat naive but one gets the impression his outlook soon matured and he became increasingly sceptical about the nature of the conflict in which he had become embroiled. It would seem that it was this experience in Spain which first gave him insight into the "imperfections" of far left wing politics and ideology and its totalitarian tendencies, and it must have been at this time that the seeds of Animal Farm and 1984 were sown. The book deserves its status as a classic and the narration is one of the finest I have encountered. Recommended.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

The Invention of the Spin Doctor

What a good read this book was. As a participant of the Spanish civil war, Orwell can give detailed accounts on the front line. This he does with modesty and obvious honesty. I find that George Orwell writes in such an honest fashion, that it is natural to believe him. His style is simple and clear. The pictures he paints of the political sacrifice of the workers who returning from war are depried of wages, dragged from hospital beds, imprisoned are shocking to the right minded. The poorly researched reporting of the UK press highlights how the press gave a false picture to the rest of the world. Perhaps lessons could have been learned to help curb Hitler early on. The press were manipulated and should be ashamed of themselves. Effectively putting the oppressed beyond extneral help. When first published, I can imagine this book made many squirm with shame.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

NOT UNABRIDGED !

What disappointed you about Homage to Catalonia?

My habit of listening to books as well as reading them, led me to discover Almost all of chapter 5 (95%) is missed, and skips to chapter 6. THIS BOOK IS NOT UNABRIDGED, IT IS AN ABRIDGED VERSION.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mr Eric Blair.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

A capable, not over-whelming performance.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Homage to Catalonia?

NONE. I DO NOT READ OR KNOWINGLY LISTEN TO ABRIDGED/EDITED STORIES OR ARTICLES.

Any additional comments?

JUST A SHAME ABOUT THE MASSIVE CHUNK LEFT OUT.

31 of 36 people found this review helpful

quite good

not as thrilling as 1984 or Animal Farm and abit bimbly but gives a good 1st person history of the Spanish Civil War and also tells you some intresting things about Orwell's own character which is relatable to his other works; his fear of rats for example and Winston Smith's torture. Still well worth a read

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

The voice of Orwell

Would you listen to Homage to Catalonia again? Why?

I would listen to this book again for many reasons but principally this one: Orwell, wisely in my view, separated out the autobiographical from the theoretical, and they appear in that order. Knowing more about the background now, thanks to two substantial appendices, I feel it would give new life to Orwell's description of his experiences. But to have explained everything first would have been a fatal move.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Homage to Catalonia?

The description of Orwell's wounding was very memorable as was his description of the 'change of mood' in Barcelona.

Have you listened to any of Jeremy Northam’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I've also listened to Northam's reading of Down and Out in Paris and London. He is fast becoming the voice of Orwell for me. Next stop, Burma Days.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The fact that Orwell's love for the Spanish people was not affected by what occurred was striking.

Any additional comments?

The explanation of the left's problems is very good and some of it surprised me.

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

A Classic of English Literature

If you could sum up Homage to Catalonia in three words, what would they be?

Amazing Literary Work.

What did you like best about this story?

George Orwell is without doubt one of the finest writers if not the finest, of twentieth century Literature. The way Orwell conveys his story and the brutality yet compassion of the Spanish Civil war is a gift blessed only to a handful of authors. His individual stories so beautifully and eloquently portrayed takes the readers mind ducking and diving from the bullets of backstreet Barcelona in the summer of 1936.

This masterpiece is so brilliantly read with ease and the voice sweeps along like a Spanish matador on heat.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

It was all a total joy from start to finish.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Homeage to Catalonia: The passion of the matador wrapped around Franco and Spain.

Any additional comments?

Simply breathtaking. A must read.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

Extremely relevant for today

George Orwell is a master of deciphering complicated political structures, as seen through the Spanish Civil War. But what is more extraordinary is his prophetic ability, for only months later Britain was at the mercy of German bombs as he correctly predicted.

His first-hand account of fighting in the war makes him unique in his ability to be able to write about it unlike many of the other biased publications at the time. It is an extremely political book so it may not suit someone who wants to read about the emotional upheaval being on the frontline.

He truly is a genius ahead of his time.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful