George Orwell was a novelist different from others, devoted to presenting the truth as he saw it. The collection includes three novels dating back to the 1930s, before he became globally known for his political satires, "Animal Farm" and "1984". These works, although standalone, explore men in conflict with their environment. In "Burmese Days," the darkest of the three, a disillusioned foreigner finds himself trapped between the corruption of the locals and the decline of his own people. In "Coming Up for Air," the disillusionment of every little man in his heartless struggle against bourgeois decorum is portrayed. "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" is a comedy where the least significant poet Gordon Comstock encounters romantic dreams before realizing that salvation lies not in escaping his life, but in engaging with it.