- Paperback: 264 pages
- Publisher: Harvest Books (22 Oct 1980)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0156421178
- ISBN-13: 978-0156421171
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 13.9 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 395,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Homage to Catalonia (Penguin Modern Classics)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
'An unrivalled picture of the rumours, suspicions and treachery of civil war' Anthony Beevor
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
Homage to Catalonia is political journalist and novelist George Orwell's personal account of his experiences and observations in the Spanish Civil War...
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
IN THE Lenin Barracks in Barcelona, the day before I joined the militia, I saw an Italian militiaman standing in front of the officers' table. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
IN THE Lenin Barracks in Barcelona, the day before I joined the militia, I saw an Italian militiaman standing in front of the officers' table. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
64 of 66 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is truly essential reading for anyone interested in the Spanish Civil War, or for that matter anyone with an interest in war, Communism, Socialism, Anarchism or in Literature. Orwell's account of the Spanish Civil War is more than just a brilliant account of life in a civil war, it is a first hand account of the horrors of Stalinism, and Orwell's experiences in Spain explain why he later wrote his best known works, 1984 and Animal Farm, to warn of the dangers which he knew so well.
The book starts out recounting Orwell's experiences of arriving in Spain as an eager volunteer wanting to help fight Fascism. He is shocked to discover the disorganisation and inefficiency of the Republican militias. The book then goes on to give a telling account of the boredom of trench warfare, where the naïve Orwell wants to be able to kill at least one Fascist to do his part in the struggle for freedom, but ends up mainly having to contend with lice, rats and the freezing weather.
This alone might make for an interesting read, but the book really comes into its own in the latter chapters, where Orwell describes the struggle going on within the Republican controlled region of Spain. A wounded Orwell returns to Barcelona, where the Stalinists who have seized control of the government turn on their political rivals. Orwell is well placed to describe the May fighting between the Stalinist police who wish to enforce state control and the idealistic anarchists who want to defend their revolutionary gains.
Following the government victory, Orwell's small political party the POUM is made a scapegoat for the fighting and is outlawed. A stunned Orwell is forced to go on the run from the very Republic for which he had been so willing to risk his life. This makes for a damning indictment of totalitarianism that is still capable of gripping and infuriating the reader generations after the events described. Orwell shows that he is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this is probably his finest work, deserving to be read by all.
The book starts out recounting Orwell's experiences of arriving in Spain as an eager volunteer wanting to help fight Fascism. He is shocked to discover the disorganisation and inefficiency of the Republican militias. The book then goes on to give a telling account of the boredom of trench warfare, where the naïve Orwell wants to be able to kill at least one Fascist to do his part in the struggle for freedom, but ends up mainly having to contend with lice, rats and the freezing weather.
This alone might make for an interesting read, but the book really comes into its own in the latter chapters, where Orwell describes the struggle going on within the Republican controlled region of Spain. A wounded Orwell returns to Barcelona, where the Stalinists who have seized control of the government turn on their political rivals. Orwell is well placed to describe the May fighting between the Stalinist police who wish to enforce state control and the idealistic anarchists who want to defend their revolutionary gains.
Following the government victory, Orwell's small political party the POUM is made a scapegoat for the fighting and is outlawed. A stunned Orwell is forced to go on the run from the very Republic for which he had been so willing to risk his life. This makes for a damning indictment of totalitarianism that is still capable of gripping and infuriating the reader generations after the events described. Orwell shows that he is one of the finest writers in the English language, and this is probably his finest work, deserving to be read by all.
70 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
No, I am not that slow a reader. I have a confession. I tend to prefer fiction, am sceptical about autobiographies and cringe at travelogues. Quite simply I nearly fell off my perch reading this book. I picked up Homage to Catalonia after reading Anthony Beevors history of the Spanish Civil War. I cannot emphasise how much enjoyed these books. Beevor is interesting and educational...I learnt a lot. Orwell...wow! Lucid, vivid, charmingly naive (and aware of it). Ultimately beautiful. Ever wonder why Barcelona has Placa George Orwell? Read this an find out. Read this book to find out what REAL anarchists stand for (actually read both Orwell and Beevor.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Though best remembered for his novels ‘Animal Farm’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four,’ most of Orwell’s early work was documentary, rooted in his life and experiences. These works cannot necessarily be taken at face value, however, as Orwell often flavored his accounts with fictionalized exaggerations in order to convey the essential truths that he encountered. ‘Homage to Catalonia,’ Orwell’s account of his experiences fighting with the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, is the most accurate of these works. Though many will read it seeking signs of his later work, it deserves to be appreciated in its own right for its engrossing depiction of Orwell’s time in combat and for his insights into the Republican political scene.
This book, part of the ‘Complete Works of George Orwell’ series edited by Peter Davison, offers more than Orwell’s narrative, though. Davison has reconstructed the book based on Orwell’s notes and provided a brief recounting of its publication history, as well as notes regarding variations in earlier texts. The result is to provide a window not just into Orwell’s time in Spain but into how he wrote about it as well, making this the definitive edition for students of this great twentieth century writer.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Clear, crisp prose
Orwell always has something to say and he does it well here in clear, crisp prose which makes it a pleasure to read. This edition contains notes and appendix. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Yvonne Moore
Dali's painting in words...
Few paintings have been quite so evocative of the horror of war, particularly of the "civil" variety, than Salvador Dali's oddly titled "Soft Construction in Boiled Beans," but... Read more
Published 6 months ago by John P. Jones III
Unique perspective
Being Spanish it is very enriching to read such a well written story of a terrible war from a unique perspective of a foreign combatant. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Miguel Zaldo
not nice
the book is full of comments and underlining in red ink, something that was not written in the description and not very pleasant to the reading process... Read more
Published 8 months ago by georgina
Needs updating...
This is a wonderful book which I recently revisited around forty years after my first reading of it, inspired by Daniel Grays's Homage to Caledonia: Scotland and the Spanish Civil... Read more
Published 9 months ago by T. C. Hogg
Orwell's moment of truth
Having now gone through Homage to Catalonia, I don't see how one can properly appreciate 1984 without having also read this book. Read more
Published 9 months ago by reader 451
Beautifully written account of the Spanish Civil War
Homage to Catalonia is many books in one. It is a piece of journalism - Orwell initially went to Spain in the 1930s to report on the Spanish Civil War. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Andrew Blackman
Homage to catalonia
Yet again Orwell puts himself in harms way and delivers the goods in his unique style. Personable, honest and refreshing even today. Read more
Published 11 months ago by northern vibes
Orwells Spanish Civil War
This is a very interesting book for those wanting detailed information on Spains civil war. Orwell's personal account of his experiences of his build up, being in the front line... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Robert J. D. Innis
Educational and compelling
Having little familiarity with the Spanish Civil War and more familiar with the concepts than the writing in George Orwell's books I found Homage to Catalonia a compelling read. Read more
Published 12 months ago by JFD
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
