Keep the Aspidistra Flying

Keep the Aspidistra Flying is an early example of George Orwell as novelist although he had already considerable experience as a journalist and had published Down and Out in Paris and London which received acclaim. This novel was written prior to his travelling to the North of England to study social conditions and lead to the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier. This novel charts one man's attempt to take on the system single handed with the result which is almost inevitable from the start. The book is written solely from the standpoint of Gordon Comstock the last of a fading middle class familly who is expected to "do well" not just for himself but for his rather pathetic relatives. The honour of the House of Comstock rests on his shoulders. Gordon, however, resents and is repelled by what he calls the "money culture" of nineteen thirties Britain. He gives up a "good job" to work in a book shop supposedly to give him time to write poetry but instead he slides into poverty and depression. Is Comstock really rebelling against society or failing under the pressure of expectation placed on his shoulders by his familly. This book is a stunning exposition of character and it's setting in society both intimate and as a whole and thus is as revealing as any text book on Britain in the Thirties. It is exactly fifty years since I first read this book and it's impact is as immediate to me after a lifetime of experience as it was in my youth.