A review by nonabgo
Animal Farm by George Orwell
5.0
People say this is a dystopian novel. It was, however, written in 1944, well into the Stalinist era, so it's not a book about a possible future, but one about a very real present. It's a political satire that uses allegory to explain a reality that many people of the era thought to be perfect, and many people today still crave for, despite having lived those times.
I am amazed that so many people cannot see beyond the "fairy tale". I am amazed that this is a tale read to kids as a "fairy tale". Orwell did not intend it as a children's book and it is definitely not one, despite the fact that the characters are animals. There's quite graphic violence in it!
For people like me, who come from an ex-communist country and were alive during those times, the book describes an all-too-real social and political context. Things really did happen the way they are described in the novel - just replace animals with people! The privations, the personality cult, the rules that apply differently depending on where on the social scale you are, the 6-day working week, the marches, the "patriotic" songs... I cannot even go into details without getting shivers all over, those are times I do not want to relive ever again.
I found the book, beyond the subject, well-written and engaging. Funny, at times. Sad, most of the time. Scary, if you get the point. It's a quick read, but nevertheless full of depths. It contains lessons easily accessible to everyone, as long as you don't get stuck into believing it is a fairy tale. This should be read by all those who regret communism and only remember the ideology instead of all the shitty things that happened during those times. Actually, it should be read by everyone - maybe it will be an eye-opener and prevent shitty things from happening again.
I am amazed that so many people cannot see beyond the "fairy tale". I am amazed that this is a tale read to kids as a "fairy tale". Orwell did not intend it as a children's book and it is definitely not one, despite the fact that the characters are animals. There's quite graphic violence in it!
For people like me, who come from an ex-communist country and were alive during those times, the book describes an all-too-real social and political context. Things really did happen the way they are described in the novel - just replace animals with people! The privations, the personality cult, the rules that apply differently depending on where on the social scale you are, the 6-day working week, the marches, the "patriotic" songs... I cannot even go into details without getting shivers all over, those are times I do not want to relive ever again.
I found the book, beyond the subject, well-written and engaging. Funny, at times. Sad, most of the time. Scary, if you get the point. It's a quick read, but nevertheless full of depths. It contains lessons easily accessible to everyone, as long as you don't get stuck into believing it is a fairy tale. This should be read by all those who regret communism and only remember the ideology instead of all the shitty things that happened during those times. Actually, it should be read by everyone - maybe it will be an eye-opener and prevent shitty things from happening again.