[One Sip of a Book] How to Resist with Joy in Times of Crisis

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a point of connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

This is the new work by Rebecca Solnit, a writer who sparked a global reaction with the word ‘mansplain,’ a practical intellectual representing our era, and who has gained much support from Korean readers through her profound reflections and captivating writing. The author reveals that Orwell was not only a writer who exposed the negativity of society through satire, criticism of totalitarianism, and resistance to power and oppression, but also one who pursued earthly beauty, pleasure, and joy.

George Orwell was a writer famous for his foresight regarding totalitarianism and propaganda, for confronting unpleasant truths, and for his dry prose style and unwavering political views. Yet he planted roses. It is not surprising that a socialist, utilitarian, pragmatist, or simply a practical person would plant fruit trees. Fruit trees have tangible economic value and produce edible practical fruits?though they are more than that, of course. But planting a single rose?or seven, as in the garden he restored in 1936, and later even more?is profoundly meaningful. p.27

His writing often contains a coexistence of the grotesque and the beautiful. Near the end of World War II, while reporting in Germany, he found a corpse near a pedestrian bridge. The bridge was one of the few that had not been completely destroyed over the river passing through Stuttgart. “A dead German soldier lay at the foot of the stairs. His face was yellow like wax. On his chest was a bouquet of lilacs left by someone. It was the time when lilacs were blooming everywhere.” It was a picturesque scene of exquisite balance: the yellow face and lilacs, death and life, the vitality of spring and the horrors of war. p.47

Orwell’s notable achievement was to point out and depict in a way no one else had that totalitarianism threatens not only freedom and human rights but also language and consciousness. His work carries such strong persuasive power that his final work still casts a shadow, or rather the light of a beacon, to this day. However, what enriches and deepens this achievement is the fuel that ignited his work?his idealism and dedication. What he cherished and desired, the desire itself, the positive evaluation of pleasure and joy, and the recognition that these could be the forces opposing the invasive power that totalitarian states wield to destroy the soul. p.359~360

Orwell’s Roses | Written by Rebecca Solnit | Translated by Choi Aeri | 408 pages | Banmi | 20,000 KRW

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