Author:George Orwell Availability:
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Editorial Review:
revisit Orwell's classic satire Animal Farm As ferociously fresh as it was more than a half century ago, this remarkable allegory of a downtrodden society of overworked, mistreated animals and their quest to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality is one of the most scathing satires ever published. As readers witness the rise and bloody fall of the revolutionary animals, they begin to recognize the seeds of totalitarianism in the most idealistic organization--and in the most charismatic leaders, the souls of the cruelest oppressors.
Since its publication in 1946, George Orwell's fable of a workers' revolution gone wrong has rivaled Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea as the Shortest Serious Novel It's OK to Write a Book Report About. (The latter is three pages longer and less fun to read.) Fueled by Orwell's intense disillusionment with Soviet Communism, Animal Farm is a nearly perfect piece of writing, both an engaging story and an allegory that actually works. When the downtrodden beasts of Manor Farm oust their drunken human master and take over management of the land, all are awash in collectivist zeal. Everyone willingly works overtime, productivity soars, and for one brief, glorious season, every belly is full. The animals' Seven Commandment credo is painted in big white letters on the barn. All animals are equal. No animal shall drink alcohol, wear clothes, sleep in a bed, or kill a fellow four-footed creature. Those that go upon four legs or wings are friends and the two-legged are, by definition, the enemy. Too soon, however, the pigs, who have styled themselves leaders by virtue of their intelligence, succumb to the temptations of privilege and power. "We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of the farm depend on us. Day and night, we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." While this swinish brotherhood sells out the revolution, cynically editing the Seven Commandments to excuse their violence and greed, the common animals are once again left hungry and exhausted, no better off than in the days when humans ran the farm. Satire Animal Farm may be, but it's a stony reader who remains unmoved when the stalwart workhorse, Boxer, having given his all to his comrades, is sold to the glue factory to buy booze for the pigs. Orwell's view of Communism is bleak indeed, but given the history of the Russian people since 1917, his pessimism has an air of prophecy. --Joyce Thompson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Tragic Naiivity:
Unlike many reviewers, I was not conned into reading this book for some sort of academic project, but rather for personal enjoyment. I expected nothing more than another great work by George Orwell, whose book 1984 was nothing short of a masterpiece. But let me tell you, Animal Farm is a disgrace. It is nothing more than an ameture application of talking farm animals to characters in the Russian Revolution. Nothing more. Nothing new. Honestly, it is simply that simple: farm animals applied to a historical... more info
All Classic Books Are Good But Some Are More Good Than Others:
ANIMAL FARM is a very well written little satire that actually is quite hilarious in places. Scholars of the beginnings of the former USSR may enjoy dissecting the novel and figuring out who or what on the old "Manor Farm" Orwell meant to represent what reality in Russia. Happily, the rest of us can simply enjoy the cleverly drawn animal characters who exhibit many familiar human traits. This is a great book to teach that can spark many interesting discussions that touch on history, sociology, psychology... more info
Some Books are More Equal than Others:
Animal Farm / 0-679-42039-8 Animal Farm is, in some ways, even more prophetic than the chilling 1984 by the same author. Though written in a whimsical fairy-tale fashion, Animal Farm carefully uncovers the slow, steady means by which a fascinating (and sometimes frightening!) ruling class can rip the rights away from the common workers. All animals are equal, the ruling class gently assures the workers, but some animals are more equal than others. So if you could just work a little hard, a little... more info
Animal Farm is instructive for our presidential election.:
2008 is the ideal time to apply the principles that we have learned from Animal Farm and apply them to November's 2008 Presidential election. Just as Napolean, the pig, instigated a rebellion against the owner of the farm (Jones) by talking about how great things will be once the animals ruled the farm, today we are told by the Obama Democrats that once Bush and the Republicans are thrown off the farm (Washington), that all will be well, that things will look wonderful, and that none of us will ever be... more info
