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George Orwell, "Coming Up for Air"

Started July 10 � Finished July 15, 2002; 250 pages. Posted 15 July 2002

Yeesh. I think I�m losing some of the vigor I had for this project. I blame it on that last Kerouac book I read that was so awful.

It�s like the child that puts his hand on a hot stove. After getting burned that badly, you never want to do that again. That�s why I always have to force them to do it by holding their arms down. Nobody really learns after only one incident

The back cover blurb for this book has a quote that some people see this as Orwell�s best novel. What I want to know is, who the hell are these people? Are they insane? Are they the kind of people who like Pauly Shore and Adam Sandler movies? What other novels by Orwell have they read in order to make that statement?

Not that it was as bad as Adam Sandler, mind you. It�s just that it wasn�t particularly good. The main character is engaging enough, the text is crisp and easy to read, and the story of a man weary of the modern world and the threat of war with Hitler who tries to escape to the town he grew up in is fairly interesting.

These story lines may sound like strong hooks, but none of it is interesting. It was like when you randomly look at a television in a bar. You�re not really interested in whatever is playing, but you glance anyway, looking away when something more interesting walks by, preferably in a short skirt with high boots. It was the same way with this book. I�d read 40 or so pages and then decide that I needed to put grass seedlings down in the backyard.

Maybe I was just disappointed at the lack of any kind of anger or passion in this novel. The main character fumbles around, tries to reminisce about a simpler life, and then remembers that maybe his childhood wasn�t that interesting after all.

And you know what? He�s right.


Rating: Library Prices.

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