Coming Up for Air

The narrative centers on George Bowling, a suburban insurance agent reflecting on his past as the Second World War looms. Nostalgic for his idyllic Edwardian childhood in Oxfordshire, he grapples with the changes in England brought by the First World War and the relentless advance of modernity. A sudden windfall allows him to revisit his roots, but he questions the possibility of truly returning to a simpler time. Published in 1939, this novel showcases Orwell's early exploration of themes like nostalgia, memory, and the disillusionment wrought by industrialization and capitalism.