I was recently gifted a copy of this 1936 George Orwell novel by a professor who had inquired about what I wanted to do in life (which seems to be a common, dreaded, and hard-dying question in any college’s English wing). I responded that I’d “like to write,” and her eyes lit up. What was it, that I’d like to write, she asked. It was at that moment that the fatal word escaped my lips: “Poetry.”

She laughed – I’ll always remember the way her lips curled into that evil smile – and she ran into her office. She was back in seconds, and this tome was in her hand.

“Read it,” she said, “over break. And let me know if you change your mind.”

My fate seemed sealed.

This book is one of the most depressingly hilarious books that I have ever read. In it, Orwell portrays protagonist and poet Gordon Comstock as he wages his “War on Money.” The novel critiques the pride and lack-there-of to be found in every social class, and examines the societal and artistic cost that a person must pay in order to succeed in life.

Comstock, rather fatally to both his craft and nearly all of his relationships, believes that one cannot be artistic while holding down a “good job.” In his mind, it is one or the other; one cannot have both.

In order to devote time to his poetry, he quits a “good” advertising job and settles in as a clerk at a book store, where he earns the bare-minimum amount of money on which one could live. The depression of such a barren existence prevents him from completing any work, and he flounders.

As with most conundrums constructed in the human mind, it comes down to pride. Would pride and artistic conviction win out over the Money God? Read the book to find out. For Orwell fans of any age; aspiring poets and artists of every kind; for any person simply looking for an entertaining and hilarious book to read, I highly recommend this compelling and incredibly well-written book.  The question that it raises is as poignant now as it was in 1936: can money and art coexist and, if not, then what will the artistic future of our society be?

- Tim Stobierski