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Striking the balance between comical and pessimistic, this Orwellian novel follows 45-year-old George Bowling as he foresees the horrors of World War Two and attempts to escape the threat of violence and old age by retreating to his childhood town.
First published in 1939,
Coming Up for Air is a novel by George Orwell examining how commercialism and capitalism are destroying the English countryside and opening the way for new threats. When an insurance salesman, George Bowling, wins money on a horserace, he decides to escape his disillusioned London life and attempt to relive his innocent childhood. He returns to his small town of birth in rural England and hides from the reality of the impending war. Featuring an introductory essay by Orwell, 'Why I Write', this new edition of the seminal novel is not to be missed.
About the author
George Orwell (1903-1950)
Popularly known by his pen name 'George Orwell', Eric Arthur Blair was an English writer, critic, journalist, and essayist. Orwell's writings have been lauded for insightful commentary on issues concerning totalitarian forms of oppression, and for advocating democratic socialism and social justice. He was especially against the atrocities committed by the Soviet Communist Party and the dictatorial reign of Joseph Stalin.
As a journalist, Orwell invested himself in observing the everyday realities around him. As a result, his non-fictional texts, such as Down and Out in Paris and London, deeply engage with the social injustices that he witnessed around him. It was while serving in the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) that Orwell witnessed violence and atrocities being committed by fascist regimes - an experience that made a deep impact on him. His fictional works, especially Animal Farm and 1984, are allegories set in a dystopian world governed by highly oppressive forces, where power is arbitrary and unchecked, and people's thoughts, emotions, and ideas are subject to state surveillance.
Orwell's works continue to resonate with the readers of the 21st Century in critiquing fascist forces around the world.
