Orwell's less well-known works are some of his very best. Homage to Catalonia is superb, as are some of his essays -- Politics and the English Language I remember as an essential piece. He's a wonderful writer, especially at his more thoughtful or subtle (as compared to 1984 and Animal Farm, which are good but ultimately very on-the-nose).
I think 1984 is more subtle than it's commonly been given credit for. Read the outer story as a fast-forward (narrated by an unreliable antihero) for The Theory and Practice (Goldstein is far more realistic than Smith) and it gets much better. It might even become a story of what happens if one seriously attempts to implement Plato's Republic.
Also compare to various essays of Orwell's, especially Such Such Were the Joys, The Atomic Bomb and You, etc.
