Down And Out In Paris And London by George Orwell (EPUB)

Description

From the author of 1984, George Orwell narrates the journey of a writer among the down-and-out in two great cities in this sobering, truthful portrayal of poverty and society. Famous for its realistic and unsentimental description of poverty, Down and Out in London and Paris follows the adventures of a penniless British writer who finds himself rapidly descending into the seedy heart of two great European capitals. As a dishwasher in Paris, he describes in vivid detail the horrors of what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchens of posh French restaurants. In London, he encounters the disturbing world of the unhoused and charitable shelters. His adventures conniving landlords and negotiating with pawnshops as he searches for work, food, and lodging are told without self-pity and often with humor.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is an autobiography of George Orwell, known in real life as Eric Blair, when he spent some time on the streets of Paris and London when he, in his early years (1920s or 30s) was destitute. Then, Blair, who I shall refer to Orwell as his real name, was starting out as a journalism/writer, after World War I (The Great War). Eric Blair doesn’t explain how he ended up in this situation of poverty in the first place, but does provide a good account of his life on the streets of Paris and London, and his struggle to survive day by day.It was rough. Blair live hand to mouth, and being among the tramps, beggars, the destitute, he always had to watch his back, for there was always someone out to take his money, clothes, food, anything, at the first chance he gets. Needless to say, Mr. Blair survived and was able to give a clear account.The book is evenly divided between his stints in Paris, then London. He covers Paris first. Paris is pictured as the lap of luxury, fashions, French architecture. I’ve been there myself, and it is amazing. Deep down below, in the unseen sections, are the workers, the dishwashers, those who do the dirty jobs to keep Paris glittering. Blair worked as a dishwasher and other similar, back breaking jobs at luxurious hotels, where the work was hard, conditions were unsanitary, and the pay was low. He literally had to pawn his clothes, look for the cheapest rooms to rent, and worked sometimes for 18 hours a day, with very little time to sleep. There were tough bosses and tough landlords, and he had to be tight with his money, buying the cheapest, and lowest quality food. Blair did have buddies to team up with, looking out for each other, and being there for the other when he was starving. Survival produces enemies off the streets, but it also produces great friendships. Blair had to take whatever job was available, for one hotel was opening up promising good paying jobs, but there were delays, so one could not depend on any “promises,” for anyone.London had it own adventure. Here Blair was traveling from spike (a hostel like place where tramps could spend one and only one night, with strict rules with a jail sentence for violating them) to spike, with a partner named Paddy. Again, there are situations where one smuggles in food and money against the rules, where other tramps steal them, and their clothes. If the tramp complained, he would go to jail. There were religious sponsored hostels, with strict rules also, and this simply tells of the travels of Blair and his buddy, obtaining money and food and shelter for the night.In this book, Orwell/Blair does sympathize with the tramp, where his present situation is not always his fault. These are situations where one loses a job, then his home because he was unable to pay for it, or could never find a job, or many other reasons. This is very similar to today’s situations where people are evicted from their homes forcing them to live out on the street or in their cars.This book is a chronicle of what these people go through, and their actions are a result of their desperate attempt simply to survive.

⭐I was brought to the attention of this book by the recommendation of Anthony Bourdain made in his book, “Kitchen Confidential” A good deal of Orwell’s experience in the kitchen and the way that it is structurally written here, would inspire the same structure that Bourdain used. I ended up loving this book because of its depiction of the time period. So much was going on in the world during Orwell’s life and his viewpoint in seeing how everyday people were living in it is certainly historic. The absolute ends that people would make just to survive day to day was incredibly gripping as the pages keep turning. I found myself incredibly liking George Orwell himself, as he comes off as a very likable narrator. Definitely a book worth reading.

⭐A certain sensitive, creative, reflective nephew had been working on figuring out what to do to express his artistic vision. He had asked for aid, specifically cash. In thinking about this, I concluded that what would be more helpful than cash, would be a copy of Orwell’s text about being down and out. If one did want to shove bank notes between pages, that would be an option, or write inspirational advice comments in the margins. It was tremendous.

⭐I am a fan of Orwell. There is nothing that I’ve read of his that I did not like, although I have only read a few things. So I was predisposed to like this book. This story is odd. The “plot” is very repetitive; it consists of Orwell’s more or less daily account of his seeking work in Paris and London in the 1930s Great Depression, mostly unsuccessfully, and the seeking of work is woven through with his description of near starvation in the process. Even though the book is repetitive in its accounting of these experiences, the writing is clear, insightfully detailed, and down to earth, and it does not get tiresome to read; I read the book in about two days. It’s a close look at the underbelly of a few English settings, cities during the late 20s and perhaps early 30s of the 20th century. Furthermore, the narrative is punctuated with some wonderful character profiles of the (mostly) men that he buddies with along the way. It has significant good humor, despite the horrible conditions that Orwell experiences and describes; the characterizations of the handful of men he tramps with are especially humorous: Orwell was good, apparently, at picking out good mates in similar circumstances, men he could count on in a pinch. The first half of the book, set in Paris, is a bit more upbeat in tone than the second half, set in London. In the Paris section, much of the reportage is about Orwell’s working as a dishwasher/busboy/gopher in a fancy hotel restaurant, and I found this reportage to be very accurate to what I know of current-day restaurants, which I know are still operated in the same chaotic way. The dining room is a different world from the kitchen. The second half of the book, the London section, is much more “down and out.” I discovered from this book that during this time and probably in the Great Depression as well, England managed its tens of thousands of unemployed, homeless men (mostly men: 10:1 men to women) by providing them room and board, but the “tramps” could only stay one night, and were forced to march up to fifteen miles the next day to the next “accommodation”; these large institutional shelters were called “spikes.” The accommodations were vermin-infested and the food was usually “tea and two slices”: two pieces of bread with oil slathered on them and a cup of tea. To my mind, this book reminded me of a long New Yorker-like article in which the writer goes undercover to expose the horrors of a situation. Apparently, however, Orwell was not undercover but instead an unknown unemployed writer who was truly forced into this degraded, dangerous, unhealthy lifestyle. I knew that Orwell died before he was fifty, and after reading the book I wondered if these harrowing experiences did not somehow contribute to his early physical decline. This book is touted as a minor masterpiece. I don’t know if I agree with that but it is essential reading for one who is studying Orwell. It certainly must have drawn on his socialist thinking, and he makes some astute recommendations for how England might better deal with the problem of massive unemployment.

⭐Obviously, Orwell is a great writer. I gave this book one star because of the terrible editing. There were tons of really easy to correct typos, like i’s and n’s blurring into m’s. Come on, it’s not like Orwell is a new indie author. You guys couldn’t find a better edition? Ridiculous. Amazon should take this one out of circulation.

⭐I’m not unusual in thinking that Orwell is a truly great writer. Although not quite as enjoyable for me as some of his more fictional based work, the book is so thought-provoking on the subjects of poverty, homelessness and marginalisation in society that I feel a better adjusted person for having read it. This isn’t something I say lightly, and I would recommend this to anyone. His observational style is not only thought provoking but occassionally funny, even when talking about the desperation of the human condition.

⭐Down and Out in Paris and London is another example of Orwell’s brilliance. Written simply and giving an account of his own experiences when he was without money or a steady income. It is filled with minutiae that fascinates, eccentrics and the sad fact that during his time, the same as now, most of the hardships faced by the poorer in society was due to those had more and their irrational fear and ill equipped inhumane laws. I was reminded when reading it of how the British Government when it suited it them swept the majority of homeless into B&Bs only to allow funding to lapse forcing many of them back out on the streets. The sheer casual pointlessness of it shocked me having always been brought up to believe that such a thing was far too expensive where in fact there was just no will for it. The same sort of thing is illustrated by the throwing away of good food to stop the tramps being too ‘well treated’ Orwell’s message rings as true now as it did then – what a waste and how easily it could be changed.

⭐A very interesting book about the time Orwell spent living in Paris as a young struggling writer and the jobs he had to take to survive and pay his way.The latter part of the book is about his return to London and how he survived day to day living on the streets with tramps and vagabonds and relying on charity for meals and a bed for the night.This happened before he made his name as an author.I read this book in an afternoon, I just could not put it down, a very good read!!

⭐A wonderfully eloquent philosophical tale of homeless life in Paris and London that although challenging in places to read was also hopefull and inspiring. The story written perhaps as a strange kind of road trip through povety was told with a great deal of empathy and compassion for life. I found the journey powerful, entertaining and at times moving with a vivid cast of characters and experiences. One thing that stood out to me is how relevant to human behaviors this tale is still today and although many changes have taken place and society has evolved, the social relationship toward being poor and homelessness is as present today as ever. I ask myself is this a failing in society or an inevitable aspect of living in this world.

⭐You really experience the whole story of this book. He couldn’t have written this book without having gone through these times, to discover how to survive on pennies, where to go to get some food and how to live when you don’t get any for days. The friendships that matter and are valuable… and those that are not.I’m not quite finished yet and I’m looking forward to seeing how his fortunes change but I will be sad to get to the end. I’m not sure you can call this an enjoyable book, but thankful for experiencing his life through this period, making me thankful that I’ve never had to experience anything like these times, and appreciative for what I’ve got. Even though my income is so low that I’m a non-taxpayer, I’m rich in so many other ways

Keywords

Free Download Down And Out In Paris And London in EPUB format
Down And Out In Paris And London EPUB Free Download
Download Down And Out In Paris And London 1972 EPUB Free
Down And Out In Paris And London 1972 EPUB Free Download
Download Down And Out In Paris And London EPUB
Free Download Ebook Down And Out In Paris And London