Orwell and Me: A Comparative Political Memoir

Equal parts interrogation and ode, a profound and urgent meditation on the legacy of George Orwell, the cartoonist’s connection to his works, and their ongoing political relevance.

From 1984 to Animal Farm, from his writing on (and participation in) the Spanish Civil War to his essays on language—out of a refined upbringing of classical British manners, George Orwell became arguably the most enduring political writer of the 20th century. Now, some 75 years later, the cartoonist Gina Siciliano reckons with his legacy with a finely nuanced attention and rigor. Immaculately researched and lovingly rendered, this graphic essay contemplates all facets of Orwell: a prophetic writer of dystopias, eager revolutionary, sensitive humanist, and product of empire beholden to chauvinist thinking.

Siciliano also traces the development of her own political consciousness. From the earliest flirtations with leftist politics as a young Crass-loving misfit punk to a working-class artist who never takes her values for granted. Where Orwell imagines the broad sweep of dystopia, Siciliano thoughtfully captures the gloom and luminance of modern times. Orwell and Me is a rewarding rumination on both Orwell and his relevance to our dystopian times.