Homage to Catalonia

De: George Orwell

Narrado por: Frederick Davidson

In 1936, George Orwell went to Spain to report on the civil war and instead joined the P.O.U.M. militia to fight against the Fascists. In this now justly famous account of his experience, he describes both the bleak and the comic aspects of trench warfare on the Aragon front, the Barcelona uprising in May 1937, his nearly fatal wounding just two weeks later, and his escape from Barcelona into France after the P.O.U.M. was suppressed. As important as the story of the war itself is Orwell's analysis of why the Communist Party sabotaged the workers' revolution and branded the P.O.U.M. as Trotskyist, which provides an essential key to understanding the outcome of the war and an ironic sidelight on international Communism. It was during this period in Spain that Orwell learned for himself the nature of totalitarianism in practice, an education that laid the groundwork for his great books Animal Farm and 1984.©1980 The Estate of the Late Sonia Brownell Orwell (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Reseñas de la Crítica

"[A] triumph.... The audio presentation adds a new dimension to a text which is required reading for any student of the Spanish Civil War." (AudioFile)

Welles' Spanish War tales read by FD

Frederick Davidson's reading of Orson Welles' limited war experience during Spanish Civil War. Love Davidson reading just about anything. Welles gives political information about the war from a pre-WWII perspective.

A great read for our polarized reality

There’s an old saying that history repeats itself and that particular statement seems to ring true today as we find ourselves in a hopelessly polarized time in which we continue to repeat mistakes of the past. Some of the content in this particular book is scary to consider, but still has plenty of relevancy. The Spanish civil war was so complicated because of polarization into political factions but despite Orwell’s clear biases he still manages to give a truthful and often very descriptive view of his experiences during the Spanish civil war in which the fascists lead by Franco ultimately won through a mix of aid from other fascist powers and the Republican army purging anti signs of resistance in the form of anarchists and syndicalists.

His inspiration for 1984

you can see where he got all the anti-stalinism from.
His storytelling really puts you IN Catalonia, at the front.

What a treat

Perfect read for these all too interesting times. Nothing much has changed. Orwell is a delightful writer even when his subject is not.

First hand account

Interesting first hand account of authors experience of the spanish civil war. Insights and observations of republican divisions particularly interesting as they proved so costly. Would have liked an historical epilogue for context

Brilliant!

Four pooints why the revolution failed:

1. Communism sabotaged the labor revolution.
2. Global Capitalism was the reason for the sntsabotage.
3. Lack of Unity by labor (too many factions)
4. Lack of Communication (ex. reporters not reporting, sabotage of intel)

Landmark political memoir

Orwell writes so simply, straightforwardly, modestly, that it's easy to underestimate both the man and his memoir. He is a towering figure - not just in literature, but in 20th C politics -- and this memoir one of his peak achievements. He rutdissects the cynicism and amorality of Communist power politics in anti-Franco Spain -- and yet remembers and celebrate the only time in his life -- on the front lines -- when he experienced a life free of hierarchy and class. He is so nonchalant that you have to read between the lines to grasp how brave he was -- and the episode when he is wounded is utterly gripping. Without any fanfare,he makes a profound moral statement about the first clash between fascism and communism.

The recording was made in 1992 and shows its age. Davidson's voice sounds almost like a parody of the breezy, plummy British upper-classes -- especially distracting since the issue of class is so important to Orwell and he, middle-class/upper middle-class, wouldn't have sounded like that. Davidson mispronounces all the Spanish, and can't pull off the American dialogue in the book. It would be great to get an updated recording that also folds in Lionel Trilling's famous introduction. Until then, I recommend listening at x1.25 speed, where the stylistic quirks are felt much less.

Inspiring

I originally decided to listen to this book because I was interested in conflict journalism. However, after finishing the book I now feel that I must explore more deeply the concept of internationalism. I’ve also begun to do more research about foreign wars surrounding similar ideas happening today, I might have to go!

In terms of technical stuff the reader was a little weird because of his British accent but that makes sense since George Orwell was British and besides you get used to it. Outside of that I have no complaints and I would recommend this book to anyone!

Wartime Journalism

George Orwell seems like one of the most honest writers, making sure to fact check himself and admitting the faults in his narrative. Even then, he seems to give a fairly informative depiction of a war most ignore.

First person shooter

I mean... Orwell is such a more captivating complement to Hemingway. The ruggedness in his prose both cordially carries along the reader and aloofly asserts the need for his perspective. He's so easy to absorb and addictively reckless. Could not recommend enough, great ground-level history lesson. The narrator is strikingly effete-sounding, but it feels wrong to judge him on that alone. Actually interesting to hear such a tony voice plead the case for Anarchism.