Homage to Catalonia

By: George Orwell

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

In 1936, George Orwell went to Spain to report on the civil war and instead joined the POUM militia to fight against the Fascists.

In this now justly famous account of his experience, he describes both the bleak and the comic aspects of trench warfare on the Aragon front, the Barcelona uprising in May 1937, his nearly fatal wounding just two weeks later, and his escape from Barcelona into France after the Party of Maxist Unification (POUM) was suppressed.

As important as the story of the war itself is Orwell’s analysis of why the Communist Party sabotaged the workers’ revolution and branded the POUM as Trotskyist, which provides an essential key to understanding the outcome of the war and an ironic sidelight on international Communism.

It was during this period in Spain that Orwell learned for himself the nature of totalitarianism in practice, an education that laid the groundwork for his great books Animal Farm and 1984.

©1952 , renewed 1980 by Sonia Brownell Orwell (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

”Homage to Catalonia is a triumph…Frederick Davidson makes a fine reader. He sounds convincingly as Orwell might have sounded, even to the occasional use of French-accented Spanish pronunciation…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”

(AudioFile)

“One of Orwell’s very best books and perhaps the best book that exists on the Spanish Civil War.”

(New Yorker)

“For a firsthand account of the Spanish Civil War, turn to George Orwell’s memoir about his six months serving on the militia…That he could have written so objective a book so soon after his almost fatal involvement in the war itself and in the partisan conflict seems miraculous.”

(New York Times)

“Clear-eyed and unflinching…At once history and a moral and imaginative experience.”

(New York Herald Tribune Book Review)

“Homage to Catalonia reminds us that Orwell was a superb journalist and reporter. Nobody has described the experience of this kind of warfare of 1914-1918, better than it is done here.”

(Julian Symons, poet, historian, and crime novelist)

Homage to Catalonia

I enjoyed hearing Orwell's time in Spain during the civil war. The narrator was so-so, at times, difficult to understand.
Not knowing anything about that time period, it was interesting hearing about all the different factions fighting the war, and the in-fighting between them.

Really describes the spanish revolution

Where does Homage to Catalonia rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 10

What other book might you compare Homage to Catalonia to and why?

For whom the bell tolls, but truthful to the nitty gritty and politics. The betrayal by the communists of the other socialist parties and their suppression gives an understanding of the destructive role played by Stalin and the tragic ultimate outcome. Orwell's description of the reign of terror visited on the people who actually fought for Spain is remarkable.

What about Frederick Davidson’s performance did you like?

excellent rendition

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Fabulous true-life history experienced by one of the most descriptive writers of the 20th century.

top quality

Fantastic book, well read , comically bad Spanish but was Orwell's. Brilliant in every way

Captivating account of the Spanish Civil War

Eric Blair, AKA George Orwell mixes an incisive political analysis with a stirring account of his time on the line battling the fascists. Sadly, the divisions and mixed goals of the multitude of political groups destroyed, from Blair’s perspective, the establishment of a Spanish Republic. The presenter is quite good at portraying Blair’s point of view.

Surprisingly funny

Fascinating, well written, well read, and actually quite funny. I didn't expect that. I highly recommend it.