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A review by frosthetix
Animal Farm by George Orwell
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
My second Orwell, after 1984, Animal Farm is a satire allegory about the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era, under the guise of a simple story about farm animals and their taking over of their farm from its human owner. I am not a history buff, nor am I particularly good at remembering what I was taught in school, so I did not easily figure out the connection to actual historical events. However, the way Orwell had written the story made it very clear that it was a cry for help, and the urgency in the tone of his writing made the reading experience a very engaging one. This centennial edition had an author's biography, a foreword, a preface, and an introduction, all of which provided similar context to Orwell's motivation for writing this piece of work and the historical background in regards to his political beliefs. I think I enjoyed (although "enjoy" isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe this reading experience) reading this novella far more than 1984, since I liked the way a short, concise story was able to reflect human behavior and our society so eloquently. It would have still been a haunting and cautionary tale if one hadn't known about the political context and background in which the book was written. Now I'm interested in spending more time reading about the analyses regarding this book and its commentary on totalitarianism, though I suspect I'd be quite inept at retaining the information I read about (doesn't stop me from trying!).
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Animal death