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miss_amzzz's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A brilliant look at the life of Eileen, George Orwell’s first wife. Scratched the itch that was left by “Julia”
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
4.0
Zufallsfund auf der Suche nach dem Buch von Orwell über seine Internatserfahrungen, weil das in dem Buch von Charles Spencer erwähnt wird, das ich vor diesem gelesen habe. Das hier ist es nicht, es war aber superinteressant und mir nur ein kleines bisschen zu lang (aber es ist halt eine Biografie, die muss dann auch bis zum Ende erzählt werden). Auch wenn man dafür nicht die Geduld hat, lohnt es sich, mal reinzuschauen; die Grundgedanken stehen alle schon in der ersten Hälfte oder im ersten Drittel.
juliachilver's review against another edition
4.0
I was disappointed to read that George Orwell was not a very nice man. Poor Eileen - who sounds absolutely marvellous by the way.
carolines's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
maxycat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I’m a bit broken after reading that. AF has done an amazing job of piecing Eileen together for us all to breathe her in and know her.
annekap's review against another edition
3.0
I love revisionist history and this is cleverly written and clearly extensively researched, but way too long, detailed, and repetitive. I wish it had been edited down rather than reiterating the same points over and over again (we get it - Orwell was a gross philanderer who did not respect his wife). The personal anecdotes could have been cut altogether in my opinion as they really didn’t add much.
I do really admire how Anna Funder picks apart other biographies written in the third person to reveal the invisible women’s work - things just magically happen, people appear, and the women who made it all possible are erased.
meep311's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
katyboo52's review against another edition
5.0
If you're looking for a straight biography, this is not it. In attempting to piece together the life of George Orwell's wife, Eileen, Funder is forced to reckon with a deep anger within her for her own life as a wife. In between writing about both the facts and the fiction of Eileen's life, she touches on how the patriarchal demands of wifedom really haven't moved on that much at all and how women are still required to pick up all the slack to support men who supposedly, according to the media and writers, got to the heady heights of success all by themselves. Infuriating, fascinating and utterly absorbing.