George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia, Magnus Mills, The Restraint of Beasts

Two books I haven’t read for a long time but which I admire greatly. I remember being naively surprised at the political infighting on the republican side, which stayed with me more than the descriptions of the war. It's apposite at the moment as the Labour Party is particularly riven at the moment as the various factions battle for control. I'm now worried that after what the right sees a massive mistake in 'allowing' Corbyn to get onto the ballot sheet, they will seek to stitch up all future elections and also purge the left (including me) from the party. The latest is the list of demands from the Board of Deputies to restore confidence in the Labour Party in the Jewish community, which, if followed to the letter, could be used to expel tens of thousands. The 'zero-tolerance' approach means that people who defend, support or share a platform with people who are accused of anti-semitism can be expelled and never allowed back in. Given that there are many on the left who feel that some of the people accused, suspended or expelled like Jackie Walker and Chris Williamson have been unfairly treated and are not at all anti-semitic, this coud very easily be weaponised. All the leadership candidates have signed up to the pledge. The 'Restraint of Beasts' was not quite the novel I thought it was, I think I must have got it a little mixed up with other Magnus Mills novels. It was marvellous though, and stands in stark contrast to all the classics I have been trudging through, as it is about working people and their day-to-day existence. No worries about neuroses or ennui or angst, but about where the money for the next meal or catalogue payment is coming from. How odd to read a book I think of as contemporary, but set in a world with no internet or mobile phones.