Such, Such Were the Joys and Other Essays

By: George Orwell

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Viewed as too libelous to print in England until 1968, the title essay in this collection reveals the abuse Orwell experienced as a child at an expensive and snobbish boarding school and offers insights into his lifelong concern for the oppressed.

"Why I Write" describes Orwell's sense of political purpose, and the classic essay "Politics and the English Language" insists on clarity and precision in communication in order to avoid the Newspeak later described in 1984.

Other essays focus on Gandhi (he "disinfected the political air"), Dickens ("no novelist has shown the same power of entering into the child's point of view"), Kipling ("a jingo imperialist"), Henry Miller (who told Orwell that involvement in the Spanish war was an act of an idiot), and England "a family with the wrong members in control").

©1954 Double Day Inc. (P)1994 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Four Stars - Maybe Five Without the Skips

I agree almost completely with the earlier review here. The pieces are all interesting, very illuminating, and, of course, exceptionally well written. The skips in the audio are mainly in the second half, and while they are irritating, the book is well worth the trouble.

Orwell was an odd duck...

Don't listen if driving...could meke you fall asleep. Not a subject matter I foumd entertaining

Great writing and reader but poor recording

What made the experience of listening to Such, Such Were the Joys and Other Essays the most enjoyable?

Davidson gave fine voice to Orwell's solid writing

Any additional comments?

Many points in the recording sound poorly spliced together. Parts of the text are missing.

Poof, and hear is Orwell!

An enjoyable intellectual encounter . A rare glimpse into a writer's thoughts, outside his novels.

A cool book

A pretty great book that I think is really great and I liked it. I recommend this book.

“I knew I should be a writer”

And what a writer is he! It is my new year’s blessing to encounter and complete/completing “ Down and out in Paris and London” and now Such such was the joys”

Happily to say these two led me to order Orwell’s 1,400 pages essay collection as a gift to myself.

Poor old Orwell

Davidson's narration made me laugh out loud.

This autobiography is the mine from which Orwell mined many of his characters.

Essential reading for the Orwell appreciator.

Such, such were the joys and other essays

Overall, it was excellent. I only have one criticism. The audio skipped a lot. That’s it. Everything thing else was perfect. I would appreciate it if audible could fix the skipping. I’m going to buy a print of these essays so I can read the parts I missed.

Outstanding book marred by poor playback

Outstanding work, outstanding performance marred by frequent, regular, irritating skips throughout the last third of the book. Thinking this was caused by a poor download i deleted and then redownloaded. It is a glitchy file.

Such are the joys of listening to George Orwell

If you could sum up Such, Such Were the Joys and Other Essays in three words, what would they be?

An introspective view

What was one of the most memorable moments of Such, Such Were the Joys and Other Essays?

During Killing an Elephant. A look into a colonial's mind while colonizing and a clarification of how a serf becomes master and the inevitability of role reversal.

What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It almost feels as if Mr. Orwell was actually reading it for us.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really... it lent itself well to being put down and being picked up later without any issue.

Any additional comments?

Well worth the price of admission.