In this story, Orwell tells how he lives when he finds himself basically destitute. While in Paris, he runs low on money and then gets robbed, leading to a stretch of out-and-out poverty.
Since this misfortune starts in Paris, it is easier to accept. Why otherwise would a well-born Englishman end up dependent on the generosity of pawnbrokers to get food? As the story progressed, I could accept the plausibility of his dire straits only because he was in a foreign place. I’ve been in foreign places, and things are different there. I would accept discomforts and experiences that would have been unacceptable at home, because things are supposed to be strange when one is traveling.
Things got pretty strange for Orwell. He writes of how he has to fake solvency to keep his landlady from kicking him out.
He writes with both feet on the ground. The descriptions are utterly realistic — he gives exactly the sort of detail I would ask for if it were a friend of mine telling me their story over a drink. He gives exact numbers of how much things cost, and tells about the way he had to smuggle food into his room. He mourns that he must waste money on the more expensive bread, because the cheapest variety will not fit into his pocket for smuggling.
He does eventually find work as a dishwasher, which gives him enough sustenance to form the idea to ask for help from a London acquaintance. Alas, things don’t always work out as intended.
The characters that fill the Paris portion of the book are vividly drawn, including people living in the shadow of misfortunes of health and love. The cheap Paris boarding house included a share of impractical dilettantes as well. After he crosses the channel, the London characters enjoy the same brilliance of description.
While the Paris paupers have their own methods of getting by, the British differ substantially. It took the author some time to get the hang of homelessness in the UK. He describes the wandering life, going from homeless shelter to homeless shelter. In the contemporary term, they are formally known as casual houses or informally as spikes.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
An excellent book! It deserves to be better known. I remember picking it off a wire rack in a railroad station in 1956 and reading it with rapt attention.
2 - dave murphy
My understanding is that Orwell was not genuinely down and out, and was much closer to the Erenreich 'nickel and dimed' approach. That said it is a genuinely good book on the subject of pverty from that era.
I love Orwell's writing, whether fiction or essay. I'd heartily recommend his essay 'Politics and the English Language' for an excellent essay on writing - it will certainly open your eyes to weasily politicians and their abuse of language.
3 - Joe
Well done review.
Not sure if you've read Orwell's essay "The Spike" which was written around the same time as "Down and Out".
A good Orwell site to check out:
4 - ashley
thank you! this book review was very helpful.
orwell was very "to the point" with this novel and i think that is what made this book so good. the reader could really see the systematic oppression and visualize the social/economic conditions of that time.
5 - bryan
The way Orwell wrote was truly astonishing. I don't belive the truth has been put better than Orwell states it in his wonderfull books.
6 - Logan
One of the most entertaining books I have ever read. I was addicted by the second page and didn't stop until the ride was over. Anyone with a pulse should read this book. In conclusion, Orwell rocks.
7 - John Wilson
An excellent book.
8 - Sally Tonkin
This book by far is one of Orwell's greatest! I love 1984, but in this one he shows you how life was without communism. It is harder, but in 1984 it shows how communism also has it's bad sides :)