Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell (1933)

A "novel" of living amidst the desperate poor near starvation in Paris and London during the Depression.

Book Review:  The title page of Down and Out in Paris and London identifies it as "A Novel by George Orwell." I've never read a novel that sounds more like a memoir. Perhaps Orwell took some liberties with the events and was honest about it, unlike some so-called memoirs. That said, every word read true about the lives of desperate poverty. If you've ever had to count out your coins to make sure you'd have enough money to get through the month, you'll relate to Orwell's character (I'll call him Orwell, as he's never named) constantly calculating his paltry finances to see if he'll be able to eat -- oftentimes he isn't. The book takes place during the Depression, when finding a job in Paris, even as a dishwasher, was virtually impossible. After days without food, Orwell lucks into a job where he works 15 hour days, with barely time to eat, six and seven days a week, in horrendous and disgusting working conditions that should've killed him. George Orwell's descriptions make the reader feel the muck he wades through on the kitchen floors, and every other sickening fact of the hotel kitchen. If you've dreamed of the wonders of Paris, Down and Out in Paris and London will show you another side.

In hopes of a job, Orwell heads to London, the job falls through, and he becomes a "tramp," literally tramping hours a day to the next state sleeping shelter (residents can stay only one night). A friend provides small loans to keep him from starvation (his pride keeps him from asking for more), but for shelter he marches along with the tramps, scavenging cigarette ends for tobacco, trying to find ways to scrape together a few pence for tea and two slices of bread and margarine, sitting through sermons for a bit of free food. The true strength of this book is that Orwell makes the invisible poor real and human. He explains that poverty is random, and these men are little different than the employed. Each of the characters in Paris and London comes off as a real person, three dimensional, warts and all, imperfect, but trying to do better, or at least survive. Not all do. He shows the poor as no better, but certainly no worse, than the rich. The Paris dishwashers' 15 hour work-days turned them into virtual slaves, with no energy left after working, no way to save money or get married, no time to look for another job, or even think clearly. Only report to work day after day to keep themselves alive. Orwell shows how tens of thousands of Britons wasted their days walking from shelter to shelter, instead of working, and there was no provision made for these (mostly) men to get work. The lack of jobs for farmers and coal workers led to their poverty, but begging is illegal. Orwell asks "Why are beggars despised?" Because they fail to make a decent living. A beggar who made good money would be considered a virtuous success. George Orwell deeply examines the people he encountered and poverty itself. Down and Out in Paris and London is eye-opening, thought provoking, well written, and penetrates into society, identifying ills that exist to this day. [4 Stars]