‘…we have nothing to lose but our
aitches.’
Trekking up nort’, t’e first ‘alf of Orwell’s ‘T’e Road to Wigan Pier’
in an, at times, ‘ars’ account of working class life in Britain, c’arting ‘is
accounts of living quarters, trips down working mines and t’e general squalor
of urban life in t’e industrial towns ‘e visited. T’e descriptions are detailed
and bleakly negative, seemingly condemning of t’e working class by t’e
lower-upper-middle class writer taken out of context. But t’e furt’er you read,
t’e more t’e language is not a criticism of t’ose ‘e comes across, but more t’e
system t’at creates t’em. Often t’ose ‘e comes across are described as ‘noble’
and ‘e is full of respect for t’e work t’at t’ey carry out, but also ‘e writes
of ‘ow t’ey will never receive t’at same respect from ot’ers in ‘ig’er orders.
T’e second ‘alf is muc’ more controversial, and looks at t’e ideology
be’ind class differences and political discourse. Based on ‘is experiences in
Burma, Paris, London and ‘is trip nort’, ‘e is critical of bot’ t’ose on t’e Rig’t
and t’e Left and could leave anyone t’at read it feeling a little alienated in
any number of ways.
Part One is at times brilliant; at times a calculation of weekly
incomes. Some of t’e descriptions flow poetically and s’ow t’e ‘ars’ness of t’e
situation for many in 1930s England. Part Two can feel rant-like, wit’
page-long paragrap’s and individual criticisms, but like Part One, offers insig’ts
from 75 years ago t’at could be applied today, particularly in lig’t of last
year’s riots.
Days to read: 17
Days per book: 14.2
Down and Out in Paris and London (George Orwell)
Something of a theme here…
Before making ‘is trip up nort’, Orwell spent time in Paris and London,
living on the fringes in both. The book is an account of his experiences in
short chapters, each an anecdote of the various roles he took/was promised or
the many characters he met along the way.
The Paris half is focuses on his work as a plongeur in Parisian restaurants. Here it is a day-to-day struggle
to find both work and money for food, while mixing with various foreign
immigrants to the French capital while spending what little money they have on
wine. The conditions are hellish and hours long and hard for little reward.
Many working like this come from better backgrounds in their native countries,
but finding themselves scraping-by to serve their ‘superiors’.
London sees a delayed promise of work leaving him without an income for
the period of one month. Exchanging his clothes, he lives the life of a tramp,
bouncing between spikes and lodging house, looking for hand-outs wherever
possible.
The book is more like a collection of short anecdotes than the more
detailed and analytical ‘The Road to Wigan Pier’. Indeed, much of the
interpretation, from London at least, is included in his later work and feels
like research building up to ‘1984’.
Days to read: 16
Day per book: 14.3
The Vulture (Gil Scott-Heron)
The’ original rapper’, Gil Scott-heron is a man I became aware of
through hip hop, learning of his music and poetry. But before his music career
began, Scott-Heron wrote his debut novel while at University – essentially
dropping out to complete it. A young New Yorker himself at the time, the story
starts with the murder of teenager John Lee as an endpoint to the lives of four
characters all connected to the victim over the past year.
Scott-Heron, therefore, takes on the narration of four personas, all
with their differing connections to the victim and motivations leading up to
the death in July 1969, as well as dialogue and interpretations. An overarching
narrative is thrown in throughout to add details to the murder, though this is
less of a who-done-it and more an insight into the mind-set of a young
generation of Afro-Americans.
The writing is clearly that of a poet, with verses thrown in, and a
language that oozes with imagery of early 1970s Blackploitation cinema. While
not without its flaws, ‘The Vulture’s is a strong work and his influence on
later generations can be felt throughout.
Days to read: 17
Days per book: 14.3
The Lonely Londoners (Sam Selvon)
My English Literature teacher during GCSEs used to read all dialogue in
novels in the supposed accent in which it was intended. If I had studied ‘The
Lonely Londoners’ at GCSE, English lessons would have been much more
entertaining.
Moses, who would feature in later novels by Selvon, is a first point of
contact at Waterloo Train Station for many Trinidadians coming to London via
the south coast. The story tells of various anecdotes of the various characters
he comes across and how they all struggle to fit into their new life as a
Londoner.
Writing from experience, Selvon, a native of Trinidad moving to London
in the 1950s, chose to write ‘The Lonely Londoners’ essentially in patois. Not
just the dialogue, but the narration is also that of Caribbean tongue, making
it – while fully understandable – difficult to read. To fully get into it, a
fair few pages have to be polished off in one sitting to get into the Caribbean
rhythms of the writing style. Combined
with sentences pages and pages long, ‘The Lonely Londoners’ is difficult to get
into at times. But stick with it, and it becomes almost poetic and humorous in
how each character describes their new home.
Days to read: 16
Days per book: 14.3
