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A review by ojtheviking
Animal Farm by George Orwell
5.0
Some books are classics for a reason, and this is certainly one such case. When it comes to George Orwell, the only book I've heard more about than Animal Farm is of course 1984, which I, at the moment I'm writing this review, have yet to read (but I definitely plan to do so). Both are novels you can't avoid hearing about in all sorts of contexts, and having now finally read Animal Farm, I did in no way find all the praise and, for lack of a better term, hype, to be exaggerated. (It makes me even more eager to read 1984 sometime soon) In fact, I loved this book so much, I finished it just within a few hours! (That's easily doable for most people though, as it's less than 100 pages long)
By his own admittance, Orwell had a very specific part of history in mind when he wrote this allegory/satire, namely Stalin's Russia, but as history tends to repeat itself - which is even indicated within the pages of this novel - the story lends itself well to several scenarios; everything from slavery to dictatorship, all of which is wonderfully demonstrated through what is most certainly a fairytale for adults, with a countryside farm becoming the battlefield and home base where what started as a well-intended revolution morphs into something completely different thanks to greed, self-serving idealism and lust for power. The same old song, in other words, but still as relevant as ever.
Given its satirical elements, you can't help but smile and chuckle a bit on several occasions, as certain moments are so tragically on the nose, yet so delightfully described. The humor is extremely dry and very British in that respect, and I absolutely loved it. Art is sometimes at its best when it holds up a mirror and makes you look at yourself, and in Animal Farm, you have a veritable army of farm animals that mirror mankind; the working class doing all the dirty work, the privileged filling their pockets with riches and basking in their privilege as they bit by bit sneak their way to absolute power and corruption, and moments like actual sheep being the blind followers as the aforementioned beast of totalitarianism begins to emerge in the midst of it all, are very good examples of how cleverly he's given each farm animal a very recognizable human trait.
And given how this is at its core a very troubling societal topic, dystopian in some ways, it's a testament to Orwell's writing skills, how enjoyable this short and sweet story is, and what a fun read it is.
By his own admittance, Orwell had a very specific part of history in mind when he wrote this allegory/satire, namely Stalin's Russia, but as history tends to repeat itself - which is even indicated within the pages of this novel - the story lends itself well to several scenarios; everything from slavery to dictatorship, all of which is wonderfully demonstrated through what is most certainly a fairytale for adults, with a countryside farm becoming the battlefield and home base where what started as a well-intended revolution morphs into something completely different thanks to greed, self-serving idealism and lust for power. The same old song, in other words, but still as relevant as ever.
Given its satirical elements, you can't help but smile and chuckle a bit on several occasions, as certain moments are so tragically on the nose, yet so delightfully described. The humor is extremely dry and very British in that respect, and I absolutely loved it. Art is sometimes at its best when it holds up a mirror and makes you look at yourself, and in Animal Farm, you have a veritable army of farm animals that mirror mankind; the working class doing all the dirty work, the privileged filling their pockets with riches and basking in their privilege as they bit by bit sneak their way to absolute power and corruption, and moments like actual sheep being the blind followers as the aforementioned beast of totalitarianism begins to emerge in the midst of it all, are very good examples of how cleverly he's given each farm animal a very recognizable human trait.
And given how this is at its core a very troubling societal topic, dystopian in some ways, it's a testament to Orwell's writing skills, how enjoyable this short and sweet story is, and what a fun read it is.