Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 27, 1990 TAG: 9006010031
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO BOOK PAGE EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
By John Rodden. Oxford. $27.50.
This is less a review than an announcement. John Rodden's book is a detailed, scholarly examination of the literary reputation of George Orwell. It would require more space than is available here to address it properly, but the book is receiving a lot of attention both nationally and locally (Rodden teaches rhetoric at the University of Virginia) and it's generating considerable controversy.
Rodden's central thesis is that Eric Blair, using the pseudonym George Orwell, was a good writer who became famous for two political novels, "Animal Farm" and "1984." Those books have given the man and the rest of his work a reputation that has little to do with truth. The books themselves are often misunderstood and Orwell has lost his invididuality and humanity. According to Rodden, Orwell has been idealized by various groups and ideologies as "Rebel, Common Man, Prophet, and Saint." Rodden finds several reasons for this curious apotheosis, not the least of them being that Orwell died at precisely the right time.
He has researched his subject thoroughly. Even though this is a serious work, the prose is clear and accessible. Rodden illustrates his points with political cartoons, ads and other visual references. "The Politics of Literary Reputation" is a lively, readable piece of cultural criticism.
Sins of Omission.
By Dennis Ford. Fortress Press. Price not listed. (trade paper).
Dennis Ford reviews books for this page. His thin, dense book, "Sins of Omission" is subtitled, "A Primer on Moral Indifference." In a way, it's a theological work and I do not pretend to be qualified to comment on it knowledgeably. I could however experience a moment of guilty recognition when I read the following:
"If I am threatened by the specter of nuclear war, I can protest, write letters and watch the Redskins on television. Doing nothing carries no immediate penality; I can remain indifferent with complete impunity. Indeed, if I do become involved, if I become so involved that I begin to sacrifice my otherwise comfortable life, my peers will call me a radical, a fanatic, a nut. Indifference speaks to and expresses the complacent condition of the middle class as does no other issue. It is the issue through which all others must pass."
He goes on to define indifference more thoroughly as it applies to religion and popular culture, and to suggest means that may effect moral change. In the end, "Sins of Omission" should provide a solid, thought-provoking basis for lively discussion.
by CNB