What a great book to read, all about English people whilst I’m a holiday abroad. I really enjoyed “why I write” and “the hanging”. Fully every word seemed to be put there for a purpose- 5 star essays I think.

However “the lion and the unicorn” was a bit of a slog at times - it didn’t help I was on the beach reading it and I got very distracted because I kept on going swimming and Naomi distracted me. It was odd as he was describing how being on the dole and to be in the torture chambers of the gestapo are the exact same??? Idk but odd there George. Yet was interesting to see how Orwell thought the war would pan out as it was written in 1940. He actually got quite a bit correct. Although the whole socialist change to win was a bit of a miss.

“Politics and the English language” was kinda interesting?? But also not lol. He was was complaining about the decline of language, saying no foreign words (including Greek and Latin) should be included. Yet to have Latin/Greek in English is the foundations of our language so this not a decline as it has always been there. Par example democracy (demo cratus- power to the people)

I loved as he ripped into the Bloomsbury set but calling them pretentious “Bloomsbury highbrows with his mechanical snigger”. Take THAT Virginia Woolf!

I also found it funny that 40s airmen had some kind reputation for being snobbish. Kinda true tbh see air cadets oop.

إيريك آرثر بلير هو الاسم الحقيقي للكاتب والصحفي البريطاني جورج أورويل . في البداية لما اقتنيت الكتاب توقعت اني احصل اسباب جورج اورويل في الكتابة و شلون يكتب وشنو دوافعه الحقيقية. بس لما بديت اقرا المقدمة عرفت ان الكتاب كله عبارة عن مقالات لجورج و ابدا مو الي في بالي! بس بعدها خذيت بريك من الكتاب ورجعته له اول امس.. ويوم انهيته عرفت سبب تسمية الكتاب بـ لماذا اكتب . تكلم جورج عن تجاربه في الحياة في بورما وحيث شهد عملية شنق. وتكلم بعد عن عمله في متجر لبيع الكتب. وتكلم عن الكتب الرديئة الجيدة و عن هتلر والحرب العالمية الثانية. تكلم عن كثير اشياء واثبت ان الكاتب يحتاج فعلا انه يعيش تجارب كثيرة عشان يكتب واحيانا الظروف اهي الي تصنع الكاتب.

São ensaios extraordinários. Há outros ensaios do Orwell que se assemelham muito a contos; parece mesmo que estamos a ler um, embora se assuma como outra coisa. Nesta antologia, apenas o A Hanging me pareceu como tal (e é, para mim, um dos melhores). Os outros tratam diversos assuntos com inteligência e reflexão crítica, apresentando um carácter talvez jornalístico (o que quer que isso seja), mais aproximado da forma que faz reconhecer um ensaio — o que faz mais sentido tendo em conta que a maioria deles foi publicado no Tribune.
Recomendo, sem dúvida, a leitura. São ensaios muito pertinentes, especialmente para as circunstâncias da época em que foram escritos (Segunda Guerra Mundial), mas não posso deixar de ver neles um paralelismo possível de se estabelecer com algumas situações que ocorrem hoje, embora noutras formas e contornos.

Orwell talks about his writing and the reasons writers write. Interesting insight into his definition of ‘political’ writing. “And looking back through my work, I see that it is invariably where I lacked a political purpose that I wrote lifeless books and was betrayed into purple passages, sentences without meaning, decorative adjectives and humbug generally.”

تعرفت على أورويل الأكثر حدة، المتهكم بمرارة، الملتزم سياسيا وأخلاقيا تجاه الإنسان، والذي يقدس إنسانيته إلى درجة المطالبة باقتراف الأخطاء ومحاربة مبدأ القدسية .. سرد رصين ولغة متحفظة ومع ذلك هي قديرة إلى حد بعيد.

هذا الكتاب المترجم عن الإنجليزية يجمع بين دفتيه مجموعة من المقالات الثقافية/النقدية للصحفي والروائي الإنجليزي جوروج أورويل، ولضيق المساحة في هذا المكان سأتحدث –فقط- عن المقال الذي حمل الكتاب اسمه "لماذا أكتب؟".

ورغم أن السؤال يتكون من كلمتين لا غير إلا أنه يحتمل مئات إن لم يكن آلاف الإجابات. إجابات قد تكون تافهة وقد تكون سطحية وقد تكون ساذجة وقد تكون عميقة إلا أنها لا يمكن أن تكون خاطئة. فمبررات الكتابة تختلف من شخص إلى آخر، بل إنها أقرب ما تكون إلى بصمات الأصابع التي يستحيل أن تتطابق.
فغابرييل ماركيز –مثلاً- يكتب "لكي ينال المزيد من حب أصدقائه"، وتوفيق الحكيم يكتب لهدف واحد .. هو "إثارة القارئ لكي يفكر"، أما محمود درويش فهو يكتب لأنه "بلا هوية ولا حب ولا وطن ولا حرية".

ولكن لماذا يكتب جوروج أورويل؟

يعتقد أورويل أن هناك أربعة دوافع للكتابة توجد بدرجات متفاوتة -حسب الجو العام- لدى كل كاتب. وأول هذه الدوافع هي "حب الذات الصرف" أو بمعنى آخر "الرغبة في أن تبدو ذكيا.. أن يتم الحديث عنك.. أن تذكر بعد الموت.. أن تنتقم من الكبار الذين وبخوك في طفولتك... الخ. من الهراء التظاهر بأن هذا ليس بدافع بل دافع قوي"، أمّا الدّافع الثاني فهو عند أورويل "الحماس الجمالي: إدراك الجمال في العالم الخارجي أو من ناحية أخرى في الكلمات وترتيبها الصحيح.. البهجة من أثر صوت واحد على الآخر.. في تماسك النثر الجيد أو إيقاع قصة جيد.. الرغبة في مشاركة تجربة يشعر المرء أنها قيّمة ويتعين عدم تفويتها". الدافع الثالث أسماه أورويل "الحافز التاريخي: الرغبة في رؤية الأشياء كما هي لاكتشاف حقائق صحيحة وحفظها من أجل إستخدام الأجيال القادمة" أما الدافع الرابع فهو "الهدف السياسي" وهو يعني بذلك "الرغية في دفع العالم في اتجاه معين: لتغيير أفكار الآخرين حول نوع المجتمع الذي ينبغي عليهم السعي نحوه"

بعد أن ينتهي أورويل من سرد الدوافع الأربعة يؤكد بأنه لا يوجد كتاب يخلو من التحيز السياسي، وأن الرأي
القائل بضرورة عدم ارتباط الفن بالسياسة هو بحد ذاته موقف سياسي.

ويسرد أورويل تجربته مع الكتابة فيقول بأنه في البداية كان شخصا "ترجح فيه كفة الدوافع الثلاثة الأولى على كفة الرابع" أي "الدافع السياسي" لكنه بعد أن مرّ بالفقر وبالشعور بالفشل أدى ذلك الى تعاظم كراهيته للسلطوية وجعله واعيا للمرة الأولى بوجود الطبقات العاملة، لكن هذه التجارب لم تكن كافية لمنحه توجها سياسيا دقيقا. بعدها جاء هتلر والحرب الاسبانية الأهلية التي أدارت كفة الميزان، ومنذئذ عرف أين يقف. فكل سطر –بحسب أورويل - من العمل الجاد الذي كتبه منذ 1937 قد كتبه بشكل مباشر أو غير مباشر ضد الشمولية ومن أجل الديمقراطية الاشتراكية كما يفهمها. ينهي أورويل سرد تجربته بقوله "أن أكثر ما رغبت به طوال السنوات العشر الماضية هو أن أجعل من الكتابة السياسية فنًا!"

وربما هذا ما جعل من جورج أورويل واحداً من أعظم كتّاب المقالات في العالم

Thinkers, Writers, Readers, Teachers and Politicians should read this. And everyone else who says reflecting on our language is important. George Orwell's writing in this book is a little puffed-up but he gets the reader thinking.

The first and last chapters are the best. The middle bits are a little politica but still interesting. (I don't have a lot of political knowledge but I read the middle bits. And found them interesting and a bit dry at times.)

This is definitely a book i want to keep referring back to for writing ideas. He also yells at us English users for puffing- up our language and taking the meaning out of it. We use pompous words and phrases that come automatically to our mind. He advises us to become aware of it and try to use more meaningful phrases that require us to think about our thoughts. He says to create metaphors instead of mindlessly setting out old ones like an assembly line.

He even gives 6 rules us writers can follow. I've learned these in high school but back then, I didn't think deeply about them nor care. It's a handy review of writing dos and don'ts.

His book also kind-of explains why 'crazy' people clip out phrases from newspapers and examine them. Just don't take the ideas in his book that far!

I don't think you have to read his 1984 to enjoy this book. But if you like 1984, you've got to read this one!

This is the non-fiction Orwell, the man who insists that, in our world, every gesture is a political gesture, every thought is a political one. Great little collection of four of his essays. Thoroughly enjoyed.

In this book Why I Write, Orwell doesn't discuss the creation of his brilliant works like 1984 & Animal Farm but rather the soul of the works - the 4 main motives for writing. He analyzes 4 motives: sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose.

So, he says: ”I write a book because I have a lie to expose, a fact to draw attention to, my initial concern is to have a chance to talk to people. But if this is not also an aesthetic experience, I wouldn't write a book, nor even a long magazine article." Perhaps it is this requirement that led him to write his immortal works 1984 and Animal Farm, which inspired Haruki Murakami to pay tribute to him with a book like 1Q84.

Reading this book, savoring his childhood at Eton, his various experiences of war, displacement, and death threats, and following him into his writing career, you will find the embodiment of the 4 main writing motives he analyzed. Then, when he begins to defend novels, you will see his research in literary theory, understand his analysis of the complex relationship between literature, art, and politics, see his love for books, literature, and art, and feel more deeply his pursuit of truth and desire for honesty. You will marvel at his brilliant way of expressing his thoughts - the highly imaginative 1984 and the fairy-tale-like Animal Farm. As Simon Leys wrote in Orwell,: “He began his literary career as a craftsman of insight and integrity, and ended as one of the great prophets of our century.

And of course reading Why I Write is easier than reading 1984 and Animal Farm, because Orwell straightforwardly reveals his heart without a hint of sarcasm or obscurity. However, the mood is equally heavy due to his unjust treatment at Eton, his various ordeals in the military, during World War II, and the Spanish Civil War. Finally, you understand why he consistently opposed totalitarianism, just as he said - ”I cannot, and will not, completely abandon the worldview formed during my childhood." Since then, he had already been forced into the meat grinder of totalitarianism, and he experienced deep pain long before any of us felt anything.

Through this book, you will also discover that Orwell was not only a political prophet, novelist, literary critic, and book reviewer but also a stylistic critic. He held many roles, closely related to his life experiences. His experiences allowed him to see dangers that most people could not. ”Looking back through my work, I see that when I lack a political purpose, my work invariably becomes lifeless, resulting in hollow, pretentious articles filled with meaningless sentences and phrases, and entire pieces of nonsense."This is precisely what Simon Leys mentioned: ”Ultimately, his exceptional achievement was not due to his literary talents but rather his courage, dedication, and clear - sightedness, enabling him to see and denounce the unprecedented threat of totalitarianism to humanity." Indeed, many famous writers of his time also experienced the Spanish Civil War, such as the eminent Hemingway and Gide.a But today, Orwell’s name resonates more loudly among English writers, undeniably due to his courage, dedication, and clear vision.

After closing the book, I’m quite compelled to reread 1984 and Animal Farm because Why I Write reveals how they were conceived. As usual, after understanding the hen that laid the egg, we continue to enjoy the egg.

4.5 / 5 stars

My other review of Orwell's Work:
Animal Farm
1984
The Road to Wigan Pier
Down and Out in Paris and London
Why I Write
Coming up for Air

Part 56 in the "Another autobiographical review that nobody asked for!"-series.

Why I Review

It was already very late in my boyhood, at thirty years old, when I considered writing book reviews. Being the man of action that I am, which is to say a lazy bum, it was almost to my own surprise that this innocent consideration promptly turned itself into virulent spasms across the keyboard, with my first contributions on Goodreads as the very unfortunate result. Thankfully my friends list at the time only consisted of some imported Facebook contacts who had last been active 5 years prior to my sudden burst of literary enthusiasm and who had gotten too busy climbing up corporate ladders to even remember ever having registered to a website about books, let alone notice what I was doing. Maybe it was this anonymity that allowed me to stay here, because as my own ineptitude was gradually becoming clearer to me as I was reading through others' reviews, I still persisted in forcing myself upon this community and fiendishly sent out friend requests in hopes of learning but mainly in hopes of belonging in this hall of learned ladies and gentlemen. I didn't stop to ponder on these hopes, on my true intentions, my real motivations. I just went with that "big bang" moment that seemed to come out of nowhere and I took it from there. I never stopped to ask: Why?

George Orwell and his essay on why he writes made me revisit those early days of reviewing and the months (years?) that have transpired since then. I found his considerations relevant to why I am doing what I do, and the structure he employed quite helpful for the organisation of my own scrambled thoughts. Also, it's a very good essay and I rated it five stars, in case you were here for just the review. If you find yourself even remotely interested in reading further through my recollections then I can wholeheartedly recommend George Orwell's original text.

Employing Orwell's essay structure, I should start with an understanding of my true nature and with a return to my childhood. Many of you already know that I was a happy, skinny, bespectacled and introverted child with no brothers or sisters and with a wonderful dog. I will not elaborate on that childhood too much since I already did that in other reviews, but these traits do explain a tendency to keep busy with solitary activities. As a child or teenager these activities strangely enough barely entailed reading or writing, aside from comic books and what was required for school. I found reading to be very boring. It felt like watching a movie with subtitles, only without the movie, and much slower. And with the advent of video games I truly had everything my solitary heart desired. The few books I had at that time turned yellow, collected dust and eventually got sold for twenty francs.

Fast forward to the internet, with its chat rooms and forums devoted to games and the dominance of the English language in those settings. At a certain point I spent more time on the Internet discussing game strategies rather than playing the games themselves, as I also started commenting on the personal stories and the societal comments people invariably shared on these things. It is now, also through remembering some emails and letters I sent, I realise that it was mainly the writing in itself that I enjoyed, especially in English. All I needed was something worthwhile to write about.

Another fast forward to much later to when I finally started reading, also in English. Murakami's "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle" proved to be the perfect present and as I read and finished that one I couldn't wait to start another book and then another and then another. Forget about slow. Forget about "where are the pictures?". Finally the movies I always wanted were playing in my mind as I sped through the pages. But after a couple of books a sad realisation gripped me as I asked myself: "What was the Murakami book about again? Something about a well and melanoma?". Clearly I had forgotten. I've always been someone who got through life more on the basis of an understanding in the moment rather than a remembering of the past. There are a lot of things to be said for traveling light and taking nothing with you on your travels, but I figured I preferred to try and collect some souvenirs at least. Hence the idea to write reviews.

So that's the narrative. But Orwell also comes up with a list of motives, especially when it comes to writing in order to be read, which clearly apply to my case:

Sheer egoism
"The desire to seem clever."
Check! The immediate feedback-system on Goodreads coupled with its exceedingly generous community makes this motive a potentially overpowering one.

Aesthetic enthusiasm
"The desire to share an experience which one feels is valuable and ought not to be missed."
Check! Hope you got John McNee's books in your libraries! I think I stressed that enough by now. In the case of reviewing it can also be the opposite of aesthetic enthusiasm, for cases where you would like to dissuade people from ever getting near a certain book. Having seen some negative reviews, those can be pretty enthusiastic as well.

Historical impulse
"The desire to see things as they are, to find out true facts and store them up for use of posterity."
On the one hand I can't say Check! here because I'm dealing in opinions rather than facts, but on the other hand, as is the case with "classics", some general opinions turn into facts and it's nice to either try and debunk them or wholeheartedly defend their status. In essence to see for yourself what all the fuss is about and reach your own conclusions. Moreover the discussions on books and society that often ensue on this website are often very enriching to me and teach me in much the same way a history teacher would, so what the hell: Check!

Political purpose
"The desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter people's idea of the kind of society they should strive after."
Dump Trump!, uhh, I mean Check!

So there we have it. A "why" that has been answered, if not fully, at least partially. A reason for writing that Orwell shortly touched upon as well is "for a living". But I think only very few here get compensation in financial terms, not counting gifted books in return for reviews. Unless you guys know something that I don't. In any case, in the end the most important reason lies in the amalgam of all those reasons enumerated above, an amalgam that I can only describe as: I love being here.

Just kidding, that's not a reason, that's circular reasoning. But I almost made you tear up, didn't I?

It's true though. I do!

There are several points I'd like to bring across in this review, which will be rather brief due to the fact that there isn't anything interesting in this book that I could elaborate on or gush about.

1) The title is misleading. Neither does this book concern itself with the topic why Orwell decided to write, nor really with the how. Oh well, it does mention rather generic reasons in the first essay, but honestly, these reasons are kind of obvious and applicable to everyone. Instead, Orwell delves into the topic of the English temperament, the faults of the English political system at that time and generally -

2) A lot of complaining. In the second essay, which also happens to be the longest, he goes on ranting and rambling and repeating himself all the while mentioning certain traits that are, according to him, typical for English people only. Most of the statements he makes about the English temperament in particular are essentially applicable to any nation, depending on its point in history. Thus, they are easily rebuked, not believable due to a lack of any arguments and only illustrate that Orwell was a bitter, presumptious man.

3) There is a lack of any type of arguments to emphasise or prove his statements. Truly, this is more a steam of consciousness about everything he doesn't like. And I cannot really say that any deeper understanding of politics comes across in his essays. Generic, angry and arbitrary as they are Orwell's own understanding of politics does not seem any deeper than that of an average person.

4) The only thing that this book brings across quite well is the presumptuousness, pretentiousness and ignorance of its author. There is an obvious reluctance to see and admit that there is more depth and compelixity to the topics that he discusses.

Not recommended.

Some big hits, some misses. The titular essay is definitely the best one.