I have also posted this on Ciao : http://www.ciao.co.uk/Down_and_Out_in_Paris_and_London_George_Orwell__Review_6096499

This book is not the usual sort of book I read but I have always wanted to read some of George Orwells work. 
It took me a while to get into it and I found I read a few pages , then forgot about it, read a few more and so on until I got about 15 or so pages in and then I was hooked It took me longer that I would have liked to read it as I was really busy with work and exams but every spare minute I had I was reading it and I loved it.

The story is set in two halves the first in Paris and the Second London, although the story is about living in extreme poverty it is still funny and light hearted and gives a really balanced few of life living in the slums in both Paris and London. It is also interesting to read the comparisons made of both French people and British as well as the difference between the slums in both countries.

It is an easy book to read and not to long and although it is a hard subject matter to read about it is written in such a way that it is still entertaining and overall a happy book to read.

I think it was a good choice for a first book of George Orwell's to read and I will be trying some more of his work soon.