But I think the stark portrayal of poverty, the abundance of political comments and the ever-brilliance of Orwell’s writing make this beyond a decent read.Orwell hastily wrote Keep the Aspidistra Flying in 1935, in the hope of making some money, while he was living in Hampstead and working in a bookshop in South End Green. It has since faded into the archives of Orwell’s ‘Other Works’. Perhaps proving that Orwell wasn’t maybe as cluelessly misogynistic as he is often portrayed to be.Ĭritics weren’t too keen on this book when it was first published. Rosemary is no nonsense, has her own successful career and consistently calls Gordon out on his sexist proclamations. It is also the only Orwell novel with a lead female character who doesn’t have the character depth of a piece of spinach. Or at least that is what I learnt from it. No one, no matter how principled, can achieve contentment on their own. ‘ Keep the Aspidistra Flying‘ teaches us that we need people. He isolates himself from his family and his closest friends. Gordon doesn’t just neglect his girlfriend in his desperate pursuit of happiness away from the ‘money god’. Orwell perfectly encapsulates how people can destroy their own relationships through their stubbornness and refusal to let people help them. No one, no matter how principled, can achieve contentment on their own.” “Keep the Aspidistra Flying teaches us that we need people. Whilst I do love the cleverness of Orwell’s political commentary and his writing style can never be faulted, it is ironically the portrayal of Gordon’s relationships that I find the most fascinating. The title refers to the aspidistra house plant that Orwell uses as a metaphor for middle class living. The book follows Gordon as his relationships, job status and mental state are all wrought to havoc by this idealism. Set in London 1934, the titular character is Gordon Comstock, a political radical who has a romanticised idea of defying the ‘money god’ that he believes runs the world. Nevertheless, it is the book I find myself reaching for whenever I fancy a re-read and the only book I can honestly say I’ve read over ten times.

Or perhaps the fact I used it for my English Lit A Level coursework has something to do with it. Maybe it’s because I first read it when I was 16 and impressionable.

I couldn’t with sound mind write for this magazine without discussing Keep the Aspidistra Flying, my favourite book I have ever read.

The aspidistra flying