Why the Tramps Walked: Orwell's Down and Out — Epoche A2
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell: four stars Why is a book from 1933 still worth reading? Because Orwell did not study being poor. He was poor, and he wrote everything down: prices, hours, rules, smells. The book has two halves. In Paris he is a plongeur, a dishwasher in a grand hotel, working in a hot cellar under the guests. In London he cannot find work, so he walks with the tramps. I read that half in one evening. It answers a question worth asking: why did tramps walk all day? Not for exercise. A tramp slept in the 'spike', the casual ward of a workhouse. A spike took a man in for one night, gave him bread, tea, a bed and some morning work — and then he had to leave, and could not return to that spike for a month. So the men walked in a great slow circle, spike to spike, day after day, all year. The rule made the walking, not the men. Is it hard to read? No — the English is plain and short. For me the best pages are lists: what a tramp owns, what tea and bread cost. Some Paris chapters repeat, and skimming them is fine. Four stars. Read the London half first, and read it before you next say anything about people who sleep on the street.