Times Have Changed: Down And Out In Paris, 85 Years On

By Jonathan Moore
Down And Out In Paris And London, George Orwell’s iconic memoir of his time spent working in Parisian kitchens and living jobless on London’s streets, was first published in 1933. It offers a bleak, humane and occasionally funny view of a world that often feels unhinged. Smoke-filled rooms, bars full of destitute eccentrics, labyrinthine hotels, gallons of wine, hunger, camaraderie, bitter and petty rivalries, hours upon hours of work, this is the Paris that Orwell recalls. 
85 years on, my girlfriend and I ended up living in the same city, jobless and looking for work. Like ...