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Coming Up for Air

By George Orwell
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In George Orwell's Coming Up for Air, the protagonist, an insurance salesman named George Bowling, navigates the unsettling changes in pre-war England. Yearning for his idyllic past, he embarks on a nostalgic journey to his childhood village, seeking solace from the creeping anxieties and societal transformations of the modern world. The novel poignantly explores themes of memory and change against the backdrop of impending war.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you enjoy exploring the themes of nostalgia and societal change through the lens of pre-war English life, this book offers a reflective journey. It might appeal to you if you're interested in vivid character studies and Orwell's critique of modernity and tradition.

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Coming Up for Air

George Bowling, forty-five, mortgaged, married with children, is an insurance salesman with an expanding waistline, a new set of false teeth - and a desperate desire to escape his dreary life. He fears modern times - since, in 1939, the Second World War is imminent - foreseeing food queues, soldiers, secret police and tyranny.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Years in insurance and marriage to the joyless Hilda have been no more than death in life to George Bowling. This and fear of another war take his mind back to the peace of his childhood in a small country town. But his return journey to Lower Binfield brings complete disillusionment.

In Coming Up for Air, George Orwell keenly explores the themes of nostalgia, disillusionment, and the effects of industrialisation on small-town life. This novel intricately weaves the personal struggle of George Bowling with the broader social and political undercurrents of pre-war Britain, presenting a poignant narrative of one man's search for meaning amidst tumultuous change.

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Coming Up for Air, set in pre-World War II England, has been praised for its perceptive examination of nostalgia and the impact of modernisation on individual freedom. Reviews commend Orwell's ability to combine personal narrative with broader socio-political commentary, portraying a vivid picture of a man grappling with his changing world. The book's exploration of ordinary life and its disruptions resonates with many readers, highlighting Orwell's narrative craft and insight.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780141185699

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 25 January 2001

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 215g

Pages: 288

Collections

Fiction General Fiction George Orwell Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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About the Author

Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950), better known by his pen-name, George Orwell, was born in India, where his father worked for the Civil Service. An author and journalist, Orwell was one of the most prominent and influential figures in twentieth-century literature. His unique political allegory Animal Farm was published in 1945, and it was this novel, together with the dystopia of Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which brought him world-wide fame. His novels and non-fiction include Burmese Days, Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier and Homage to Catalonia.

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