I‘ve been listening to this on Audible, I‘m completely invested in it. Julia was a great character already of course, but she‘s become so spellbinding in this. Just as Margaret Atwood has showed: us the life of women in totalitarian regimes is precarious at best. The imagination and detail is exemplary, highly recommended.
pickI loved seeing the events of 1984 through Julia‘s POV. It was so much more developed and nuanced in my opinion. Julia was definitely more fleshed out.
This was a 4-star read for me until near the end. I felt it should have stopped at the end of chapter 21 as the last 50 pages dragged for me and felt unnecessary.
#52bookclub24 #theotherbookwiththesimilarplot
pickThis book is part biography, part fiction and part memoir of the author. A strange combination and I wasn‘t sure what to make of it at first. I like George Orwell‘s work but this book looks at his wife Eileen and her role and influence on his work. And how she has been ignored by everyone including Orwell. It left me thinking that Orwell was a completely self absorbed a-hole!! The book had me questioning assumptions but rounded them out perfectly
‘Listen to this for a thank-you note,‘ she tells Lettice, finding Wells‘s letter. “Why do you attack me in this way? Is it some perverted jealousy or some insane political machinations. Read my early works you shit.”‘ Lettice chuckles.
‘Poor man,‘ she says. ‘Probably thinks you were trying to kill him.‘
‘Yes,‘ Eileen says. ‘Death by plum cake.‘
These anxieties of authenticity exist because when words go inside a reader, they make magic. They fizz and pop and conjure. They change minds. Your words may cast a spell on the reader but they cannot be felt to be a con-artist's trick, for then the reader will feel de- frauded. All the reader wants is for the avatar sitting behind the table to match their inner picture.
Recent acquisitions:
📖 George Orwell: A Life by Bernard Crick (on my wish list for a few years)
📖 Another Brick in the Wall: The Stories Behind Every Pink Floyd Song by Cliff Jones (read this 25 years ago!)
📖 Atheism (20th Century Encyclopedia of Catholicism) by Étienne Borne
#fREADom #UniteAgainstBookBans #LetUtahRead
When she'd turned around George was at the door, hands on hips, waiting for his answer. She saw then that to him she belonged here with the animals and the house and the garden.
'Spain is a good idea,' she'd said, reaching the back step. 'I'm sure we could be useful.'
He'd looked startled. 'But I'll be at the front. There'd be nothing for you to do.'
so-so25-7 Mar 24 (audiobook)
This book is reminiscent of Virginia Woolf‘s A Room Of One‘s Own and it probably suffered as a result.
Funder tries to discover Orwell‘s first wife, Eileen, hidden in Orwell‘s writing - his letters, articles and novels. Orwell is not likeable. And Eileen was without doubt a clever woman who influenced and enabled his work. I object, however, to some of the assumptions Funder makes and her positioning of herself in the text.
Bit of a deal right now...
#WomensPrizeNF
