George Orwell wrote “Coming Up for Air” in 1939. It was not one of his most successful novels, but it nonetheless reflects elements of Orwell’s views of the world in general and England in particular. The main character is George “Fatty” Bowling. He has a wife he does not particularly love, and children he finds himself generally annoyed with.
The book is set in 1938. There is a general sense of unease in England, as there is in George’s life. What turns out to be World War II is the on the horizon. George’s thoughts turn increasingly to the time of his youth, spent in a town called “Lower Binfield”.
George has serendipitously won money at a horse race and decides to return to Lower Binfield. He wants to try to recapture the feelings he had before life closed in on him with all of its opportunities, choices, and challenges and gain back strength before the bad times begin.
George finds, of course, that what he knew was long gone in Lower Binfield. As the character tries to rediscover the time gone by, Orwell does a masterful job in describing the world Lower Binfield occupied before World War I. Orwell counterposes this with relatively negative pictures of England in 1938, drawing a critical yet moving portrait.
The book itself has elements that foreshadow “1984”. The more powerful points come when Orwell, through the character, George, begins to focus on the future. He describes a world where even the good come to hate, come to promote violence and move it forward. Different from his other books, which rely on fantasy or allegory, this book is a solid piece of realistic fiction.
