Such, Such Were The Joys by George Orwell is the thirty seventh and the one before last of The Essays - you find this collection in the 917th place on The Greatest Books of All Time site, nevertheless, the algorithm changes the places in the hierarchy, ergo you could see a different structure, I don’t know what data is used, however, if it takes into account the ‘reading public’, then the chefs d’oeuvre will descend from the top spots, and the likes of The Da Vinci Code will dominate the front rows, and they will become the “GOAT” – that notwithstanding, you have more than five thousand reviews on books from the aforementioned site and others, with notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other lists waiting for you on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html if you are interested, why plug this, I don’t know

 

Such, Such Were The Joys by George Orwell is the thirty seventh and the one before last of The Essays - you find this collection in the 917th place on The Greatest Books of All Time site, nevertheless, the algorithm changes the places in the hierarchy, ergo you could see a different structure, I don’t know what data is used, however, if it takes into account the ‘reading public’, then the chefs d’oeuvre will descend from the top spots, and the likes of The Da Vinci Code will dominate the front rows, and they will become the “GOAT” – that notwithstanding, you have more than five thousand reviews on books from the aforementioned site and others, with notes on films from The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made and other lists waiting for you on my blog and YouTube channel https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html if you are interested, why plug this, I don’t know

 

 

10 out of 10

 

The Essays of George Orwell https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/10/riding-down-from-bangor-by-george.html have come to an end, and this means mixed feelings: great joy, because they have been wonderful, but also anxiety, since the next read will be a challenge, how to appreciate something that may not be as good

 

Or even far from it, nevertheless, I have started reading what may be the twenty seventh chef d’oeuvre by Magister Ludi Kingsley Amis – one of his magnum opera is reviewed here https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/02/one-fat-englishman-by-kingsley-amis.html - What Became of Jane Austen

 

Such, Such Were the Joys is autobiographical, and with a stupid joke I say ‘poor Orwell’, indeed, it was no laughing matter, things were worse for him that we had them under Ceausescu, at least on some counts, or maybe this is just fuzzy now, and it looks so awful, because of the expectations, what is clear is that he was in pain

He took beatings, frequently, the essay starts with the author saying that he moved to this St. Cyprian's preparatory school, and he wet his bed, later he would get that this is normal, even for a child of eight, when he moves to unfamiliar territory, and especially when this happens under duress, he had not had a happy childhood

 

There were major differences between the rich and the poor – here we had similar experiences in a…communist country, just like Geroge Orwell says in his masterpiece Animal Farm https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2024/08/animal-farm-by-george-orwell-one-of.html in one of the best known quotes:

“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others’

 

Orwell and the children who were not coming from rich families were beaten, while the offspring of the aristocrats were spared, the school master even broke his stick – min fact, a riding instrument I think it was – and the child went out and bragged that it did not hurt, he was overheard and sent in to take another portion of abuse

We did not have that in the communist schools, well, not in most of them, albeit we must think of the other cruelties that were inflicted, first of all, that horrid ideology, imposed on all, children – strangely, they were called pioneers, all with red ties and costumes – would spend hours learning to dance for the big pedophile

 

Ceausescu was a sort of Trump – oops, it is good that this comes so close to the end, when nobody is still around for the wrap up of this fiesta, and ergo I will not get reported, again, and kicked out of Goodreads, they did that to me, and I think it was becomes of my deep Contempt  https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/08/contempt-aka-le-mepris-by-alberto.html for Orange Julius Caesar

this fellow is asking for 240 million dollars – maybe it was a different figure, but in this ballpark – from the DOJ, for the trials, legal proceedings wherein he was the defendant, you know, the Capitol riots, secret documents in the bathrooms, find me 11,000 votes, the scams with the banks and taxes, the list is long, and he is so abominable and corrupt

 

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – I am on Goodreads as Realini Ionescu, at least for the moment, if I keep on expressing my views on Orange Woland aka TACO, it may be a short-lived presence

Also, maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/2025/09/do-you-have-any-feedback.html – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the benefits from it, other than the exercise per se

 

 There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

 

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/realini-in-newsweek-participant-in.html

 

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

 

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’