Rereading Orwell: The Burden of Circumstance
A few days ago, I started re-reading George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant and Other Essays. Every so often it’s good to revisit authors who’ve had a profound influence on one’s own writing, and my fiftieth birthday seemed like the right moment to dip back into Orwell, who has always been a touchstone. Like some kindly old professor, the champion of anti-totalitarianism mostly hovers in the background of my mental library. But now and then…