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Keep the Aspidistra Flying is a compassionate satire on the 1930's society. Written by George Orwell, the book was first published in 1936 when the western world was still reeling from the devastation of the Great Depression and the Second World War was looming on the horizon.
Gordon Comstock is the main character in the novel, and his main goal is to defy the main things that society is doing - glorifying money and status. Trying to keep himself hidden from this selfish world, several bad things subsequently happen to him, leading to the major conflicts of the story. The book is yet another of Orwell's great takes on literature and the world.
Enlivened with vivid autobiographical detail, the novel explores materialism, respectability and the class system - themes which remain relevant even today. Through the character of Gordon Comstock, Orwell reveals his own disaffection with the society he once himself renounced.
About the author
George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903, in British India, was an influential British writer, journalist, and critic. The son of a colonial civil servant, he received a privileged education at Eton College but lived modestly. After serving in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, he became disillusioned with colonialism, resigning in 1927 and returning to England to pursue writing. Adopting the pen name George Orwell in 1933, he wrote works reflecting his political awareness and social conscience, starting with Down and Out in Paris and London.Orwell's experiences with poverty, his participation in the Spanish Civil War, and his observations of totalitarian regimes profoundly influenced his writing. Fighting for the Republicans in Spain cemented his opposition to both fascism and communism, themes central to his later works. His novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) are seminal critiques of totalitarianism, introducing concepts like "Big Brother" and "doublethink." Animal Farm, an allegory of the Russian Revolution, and Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopian vision of surveillance and control, remain his most impactful works.Known for his clarity and incisive social critique, Orwell's writing exposed social injustices and the dangers of power. Despite health struggles, including tuberculosis, he remained a prolific writer until his death on January 21, 1950. His legacy continues to shape discussions on freedom, power, and truth.
