Coming up the Air

First published in 1939 Coming Up for Air is a novel written by George Orwell shortly before the outbreak of World War II. Set in 1938 London the story revolves around a middle-aged insurance salesman George Bowling who lives in a suburban row-house with his wife and two children. As the years roll by he feels like a hostage to his own wife and children and himself as a prisoner. One day after winning some money from a bet George steals away from his family to visit the village where he grew up to fish for carp in a pool he remembers thirty years before. The pool alas is gone the village has changed beyond recognition and the principal event of his holiday is an accidental bombing by the RAF. In this novel Orwell has portrayed a character who seeks to escape in order to come up for air. It is a poignant account of one mans attempt to recapture childhood innocence as war looms on the horizon.