Orwell is often cited for his ideas and the themes he tackles in his work. I can't recall any mention of his voice, his prose or (in the case of his fiction) his characterization. I suppose that's more of a testament to the profundity of those themes and ideas that his remarkable writing is so often overlooked. It really shines here in this collection. Of course, many of these essays should be reread on a regular basis, particularly "Politics and the English Language," "Why I Write," "Shooting an Elephant" and "Looking Back on the Spanish Civil War."

I enjoyed this very much simply because I adore Orwell's writing, however I couldn't give this 5*'s because it didn't actually seem to reach a point or a conclusion.

I can't imagine living life thinking the way orwell does. I admire it, but I can't imagine it. Such, Such Were The Joys was an essay from orwell reflecting his childhood from the perspective of Orwell's adult(and very very poltical) mind. I quite enjoyed it, many other essays of his didn't age well not because of his thoughts but because of subject matter, enjoyable read tho and very british/dry.