Some boring backstory (feel free to just skip to the last few lines):
Following accusations that came out recently about a current famous and well-loved writer, I noticed people discussing whether as readers they can separate the art from the artists. I asked myself that question and concluded: nah. I personally can't. I don't want books by awful people on my bookshelf. I'll buy them in charity shops and fling them back in there once i've read it if the book is supposedly that good but I just don't want to proudly display the work of bad people on my shelves (not even banished to the bottom shelves, the crappiest of seats for books on a bookshelf).
So because i'm extra I decided to look at the books already on my shelves (I didn't start reading until recently if i'm honest so not a whole lot to go through…) and look into the authors of the books I already display.
This process will help me keep spawns of evil and sex pests off my shelves, but it will also help me figure out if I want to read an author's other works as well. If I think, oh that author seems interesting… and then I read about them and turns out they were just a bit of a d*ck, eh, maybe I'll keep the book but I won't bother digging into their bibliography. There are so many authors to consider, so why waste that energy?
Currently my favourite book is 1984 so I guess George Orwell is the next one up for being read about.
I have looked briefly for a biography but there doesn't seem to be an easy or obvious answer to "the best, highest regarded biography" of Orwell.
Fans of Orwell that may have already read some biographies on the man – is there a book, or books, that you would recommend I read to get to know the author of my favourite book better?
by stefneh5295
1 Comment
I’m not an expert on the subject but I recollect he (and subsequently his estate) didn’t allow biographies or tried to actively suppress them. I’m sure some have been put together anyway as time has gone on!