Coming Up for Air

Penguin Modern Classics

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Coming Up for Air

By: George Orwell

Narrated by: Daniel Rigby

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

George Orwell's paean to the end of an idyllic era in British history, Coming Up for Air is a poignant account of one man's attempt to recapture childhood innocence as war looms on the horizon.

George Bowling, 45, mortgaged, married with children, is an insurance salesman with an expanding waistline, a new set of false teeth - and a desperate desire to escape his dreary life. He fears modern times - since, in 1939, the Second World War is imminent - foreseeing food queues, soldiers, secret police and tyranny. So he decides to escape to the world of his childhood, to the village he remembers as a rural haven of peace and tranquillity. But his return journey to Lower Binfield may bring only a more complete disillusionment.

Public Domain (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Classics

Village

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For me this is book is up there with 1984 and Animal Farm. The ideas within are later to be echoed in these his most famous works. In many ways a reading of Coming Up for Air is helpful towards fully understanding the themes of 1984 in particular - eg there is a fascinating section on hate speech. It is well written, insightful and gets you thinking … and just as the book was anticipating the move toward a Second World War in 1939, so the the mood and ambience of this book can be easily translated to our own age as we anticipate the continued decline of our quality of life in the 2020’s and the increasing international tensions and collapse of modern society gathers momentum. At it’s core is the gradual stripping away of our humanity and quality of life and the removal of our inherent spirituality as the political systems that shape our world tighten their grip.

The books is well read but for me the voice sounds too young for the central character - however it is the best narrated version currently available as far as I am aware and definitely still worth getting. If you enjoy his other works then this is a MUST!