I have never read such an intellectual book about Roses. When I got into it, I was not at all prepared for the amount of information I am about to consume. Orwell's Roses is about Orwell and the roses but not exactly about them at the same time.

Divided into 7 parts, it feels like an ode to the writer himself. Despite the strong biographic mood, Orwell's Roses also deals with nature, politics, art and life of Orwell through his writings. Now, I haven't read anything that's written by Orwell but this book made me search for everything he wrote.

There's also this interesting tangent with Tina Modotti and Stalin's Lemons, but Solnit ultimately comes back to Orwell. Roses in this book is not just a flower but also a symbol for revolution, freedom and casual pleasures of life. I particularly enjoyed part 2 where she talks about the perils of coal mining. The Spanish Civil War part is also enlightening with so many new things that I was not aware of previously.

With that all said, I particularly like how Solnit didn't idealize the man. His shortcomings are also discussed with along with his deep roots in colonialism. I also like to note that as much as this book talks about the past, it does highlight the monstrosity of the present times too. And the finishing touch with a rereading of 1984 has increased my interest in the book.

I must be lying if I said that I totally enjoyed this book. There were some parts that dragged and I had to switch this for reading other books. and I found the pacing in the middle of the book a bit lagging for my taste. However, I must admit that I am new to reading essays and it might be something to do with me. Overall, I found this book thoroughly entertaining and informative. This is my first Solnit and I look forward to reading more of her.

Thank You, NetGalley and Granta for providing me with the ARC.