Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Wow is what immediately comes to mind. This is an amazing memoir written by the author of the famous works 1984 and Animal Farm, both of which I read and enjoyed. My friend who wrote a prizewinning short story with a similar title recommended this book to me.

It begins with the life of an Englander living 'down and out' in Paris. Struggling to find work in the hard times of the early 1900s. Going without money for days seems often easier than the relentless work they are exposed to in hotels, 15 hour days (which he admits are short) and torrid working conditions of sweat, dirt and grime. We follow the central character through attempts at work, firstly as a lowly dishwasher in a huge hotel, then as a higher-up waiter in a new restaurant. It exposes the underclass of both of these lines of work, following days of starvation often because of a lack of funds, sleeping often on the floor of his workplaces or sharing a murky bedroom with his friend who is also in search of money. This section of the book ends with a look at the lowly jobs so many were exposed to, which were easily replaceable, highly unhealthy and often completely pointless. Orwell forces us here to take a look at a world where working your skin off is accepted, and next to nothing is paid for starving off of humanity. Even though this book was written for another world of post-industrial mass production, lessons can still be learned today in the torrid working conditions and payment which barely lets ends meet (and that's just in Western countries).

Then with the offer of work in London, he travels there where of course the work is not available. He survives on near to nothing as a tramp in the streets of London, going from cheap to cheaper accommodations with little hope of a respite from this. He meets several colourful characters along the way who aid him in this life. Moving from one night shelter to the next - these shelters do not let any tramp stay more than a night at the given time. He speaks of stripping down for searches, watching his fellow tramps survive on little but cigarettes ends and finding out the structure even within a society of tramps. He ends this with a look at the society he has been living in and again forces the reader to take a look inside the lives of these people who have had their dignity stripped away, normally by uncontrollable circumstances. Again this was written in a far earlier time but last time I went to London (I was 5 so about 15 years ago), there were beggars all through the streets.

This book forces you to look at how the other half lived, the ones who were either born into a sort of vagrancy or who fell on what were exceedingly bad economic times. However, this makes it sound depressing which it wasn't. Throughout the book new characters were introduced, their backgrounds explored and their circumstances explained.

Amazing, amazing book. I highly recommend it to anyone for a look at what it was to be 'down and out.'