# Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

9 Hacker News commenters recommended Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a raw, first-hand picture of poverty in Paris and London, written by someone who lived it; one critic calls it overrated.

## Why people recommend it

- Raw, firsthand account of poverty (2 comments): "he is very clear that he comes from some privilege and also that he actually lived the experiences he wrote about" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48320502)) "It's a good picture of life in the slums at the time, and much more raw than other accounts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46925322))
- Rereaded often, personal favorite (2 comments): ""Down and out in Paris and London" is what I've reread the most" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49265591)) "An all-time favorite book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49460360))

## What people warn about

- Called overrated by one critic (1 comments): "one of Orwell's more overrated books" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46307198))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams](https://hackerapproved.com/p/careless-people.md): 106 recommend
- [Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl](https://hackerapproved.com/p/man-s-search-for-meaning.md): 13 recommend
- [Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard Feynman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/surely-you-re-joking-mr-feynman.md): 11 recommend
- [Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kitchen-confidential.md): 9 recommend
- [Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mein-kampf.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0141042702?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780141042701) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell", https://hackerapproved.com/p/down-and-out-in-paris-and-london/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).