Homage to Catalonia

Homage to Catalonia
by George Orwell
read: 2012

Hey, an Orwell book I read recently!  I visited Barcelona in the spring of 2010, and some of the things I saw there made me interested in the Spanish Civil War.  Orwell fought in it and wrote Homage to Catalonia as an account of his experience.  He alternates between telling what he saw first-hand and giving an overview of the politics that led to the war and shaped the outcome.  His personal story is jarring for the extent to which it shows how the world has changed - few people I know would sacrifice life and limb to fight for ideology in a foreign country, and they certainly wouldn't complain that there was too little shooting if they did.  The political chapters are confusing with the acronyms of the various political parties involved, but Orwell effectively conveys how that divisiveness and confusion contributed to the downfall of the left and Franco's rise to power.  Probably more than anything, the book is remarkable for de-romanticizing military service; war is not just courage in the face of death but also resilience in the face of boredom, dwindling supplies of cigarettes and candle wax, and pubic lice.