I went into this book knowing it was a politically driven story (I mean, hello, the forward tells you as much in the first place) but I found that even with that in mind, the story was still quite enjoyable. (I generally loathe all politically driven conversations; everyone’s too focused on swaying someone to their point of view to actually value another individual’s perspective. …but that’s a whole other can of worms we can leave unopened at this time.) Most of the animal characters were developed off of existing political leaders, two or three people (in one character), or groups of people in the Russian Revolution at that time. I really, really enjoyed the irony of the ending and how perfectly it captured the corruption of socialist ideas in the hands of corrupt leadership. I almost wish I could have been alive to witness the effects of this allegory on the world. But then again, it might have been harder to get my hands on a copy then…

And while I can see the depiction of the Russian Revolution and it’s components within this story, I also think that these characters and scenarios can transcend the intended allegory. Meaning it’s contents can be applied to more than just the Russian Revolution and it’s leaders, but to any nation in which leadership is corrupt and all powerful.

Anyway, Orwell’s writing was good – I would have liked it to be a touch more smooth and easy reading like, and it is a short book but you get a lot of detail and development from the story and it’s characters.

I definitely recommend reading it, if not for the historical nature of it then for the unique portrayal of the ideas held within.

Full review: https://wanderinglectiophile.wordpress.com/2018/02/14/mini-reviews-slaughterhous... ( )

Orwell’s best work of fiction by some distance. It has the lightness of touch characteristic of his essays but otherwise absent from his novels. The narrative unfolds at a swift pace and with an organic inevitability. The characters are types, this is a fable after all, but Orwell uses his loyal carthorses, wise old donkeys and mindless sheep to moving effect. Animal Farm is short and brutal; unlike 1984, however, it leaves this reader feeling invigorated by Orwell’s artistry and clear-eyed vision, rather than bludgeoned into despair.

Is it about the tragedy inevitably brought by revolution? Or the tragedy of revolution betrayed? I think both interpretations are valid, though it would be an odd reader who concluded that the animals were wrong to rebel against Mr Jones. Despite his socialism there were strong elements of fatalism and pessimism in Orwell and they find clear expression here. It is also a book which could only have been written by someone with a profound, almost anarchistic, scepticism towards authority and ideology in all their forms.

Animal Farm was conceived as a book with a specific polemical purpose. Orwell wrote it to ‘expose the Soviet myth’: not to make the world safe for capitalism but to clear the way for genuine socialism. His timely intervention produced a work of timeless and universal relevance. Ultimately it isn’t about Soviet Russia. It speaks to our eternal need for liberation and how it is betrayed, not just by mendacious pigs, but our own misplaced faith in those who profess to lead us. ( )

Still a lovely fable. ( )

Great book! ( )

an easy read, ironic and scary ( )

Fantastic read

Statement above still standard years later. 4.5 stars Reread this book and found it just as great as the first time; although, I did want more from the character building … maybe I just wanted the story to keep going. Def something I recommend all of the time. ( )

Poignant, relevant, and slightly terrifying. Masterfully done. ( )

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Animal death, murder, grief and loss depiction
Score: Nine points out of ten.
I own this book. Find this review on The StoryGraph.

So I finally read Animal Farm. When I found it at a library, I initially didn't want to read it, so I put it off for a while, but I could now order a copy for myself. So I did. Soon enough, Animal Farm arrives and I immediately had to pick it up and read it. When I finished it, it was one of my favourite novels. Who knew one of the last novels I read in 2023 was outstanding?

It starts with the first characters I see (the author introduced to me them all at once) like Old Major who, in the opening pages, convinces the other animals to revolt against the farmers who oppressed them for so long. His efforts were successful as the animals rioted at Manor Farm, expunge the owners and rename it to Animal Farm (hence the title.) Once they did, Snowball took over and established a new ideology: Animalism (which sounds like Communism.) Here's where Animal Farm shines: All the characters are allegories for historical figures and some events reflect the ones that happened in real life. It's such a brilliant fictional work, not to mention Animal Farm is a satire that works despite its lack of humour (because everything is an exaggeration.) Toward the latter half, Napoleon quietly takes over Animal Farm from Snowball by spreading propaganda and subtly changing the rules until they are a far cry from what they originally were. The ending was shocking as one dictatorship of farmers replaced another (an elite group of pigs ruling over other animals.) How chilling. ( )

I've heard that this book is about the negative aspects of socialism, but really I think it's more about how easy it is to dominate a country that is either not educated or "selectively" educated, meaning their information is filtered. To me it doesn't really illustrate how socialism is wrong. This book didn't move me on a personal level, so I probably would've given it a 3 star, but I gave it an extra star because it reminds me of North Korea and it was written before North Korea got to be the way it is now. ( )

9th grade was definitely too early to have read this book with any level of understanding. I caught this out of the corner of my eye on our bookshelf and picked it up for a light weekend read. This edition has an introduction which gave me more insight into Orwell's background and how it shaped his writing.

I remembered the book had to do with socialism, but I didn't know that Orwell was literally a socialist. I had missed the connection between his desire to see a society that served all members and how that goal is often mutated by lust for power. The world Animal Farm creates isn't dystopian, because there isn't anyone fighting against the leadership. It's a fantasy, where rules don't have any play in the outcome and reality changes at the whim of Napoleon.

I appreciated the book my second time around, nearly 20 years after reading it the first time. I'll probably come back again. ( )

Surprisingly the first book by [a:George Orwell|3706|George Orwell|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1175614486p2/3706.jpg] I've read. Surprising in that it's taken me this long to get around to reading something by him.

I liked it. The subtitle is "A Fairy Story" which I interpret as a Fable. It's certainly meant as social commentary, both for its historical context and as a warning for future generations. Even though the narration is done with a more "telling" than "showing" style, it really works for its purpose. In telling, it does not directly make any judgements on the animals or their decisions, and so allows the actions to speak for themselves, because the reader is still able to clearly see what the reprecussions will be. Also, no one character is given a voice in the narration -- no one's thoughts are prioritized over another, which helps keep the "third party" perspective. This allows the reader to remain distant. I think this distance is good for this story -- you want to feel removed and unemotional, not manipulated, so that you can feel certain that the events are tragic.

What I do wonder: because it is to us, the reader, so obvious that Napolean and Squealer are manipulating events and spreading propaganda, (even though the narrator makes no judgement to persuade us that way), do the high school students who study this book appreciate how it is possible for such brainwashing to exist? I'm not sure they can or do. I'm guessing that Orwell was not aiming his book at teens. If the removed third person has a flaw, it's that -- the less-mature reader may not be able to see how such manipulation is possible because they are not made to feel the manipulation themselves. A very debatable point, I realize.

A great novella. Even without the social commentary aspect, it is easy to see why this is classic literature (because of the writing quality). ( )

2023: I just finished listening to this on audiobook (fantastic telling, by the way). I thought I'd not read it since high school...not realizing I just read it two years ago! Ugh... grief... Anyway, the narrator on this version made it just perfect---especially when he breaks out into "Beasts of England". I really got a lot out of the story this time. I'm upping my star rating.

2021: I read this in high school 25 years ago and didn't understand it at all. Having no desire to repeat the experience, I have avoided this 1001 book all these years. However, last night I needed a quick read to clear my mind from one 19th c. English story so I could start another, so I resolved to brave this loathed volume.

This time it made perfect sense and I found it not as horrible as I'd imagined it'd be. It's actually a fantastic warning of things that are certainly coming to be. The ignorance of the farm animals seems laughable---until you look at what Democrats are getting away with in the US.

Oops...did I type that out loud? ( )

a biting satire of Stalinism and the rise of authoritarian governments. Shows perfectly how popular revolution can be used to keep the "pigs" in power. Don't think this just applies to the USSR, though! this is as relevant now in America as it was to the Soviet Union before its collapse. ( )

A satire of the Russian revolution, using farm animals as an allegory for the hierarchical nature of human society. A re-read after many years, and still resonates with me as a wickedly accurate insight.
The final sentence is such a classic: The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which. ( )

Enjoyed this about as much as I did when I was at school.
About as successful as Floyd's album taking the same theme as inspiration. ( )

2nd reading after... 8 years, perhaps.
Great read, nicely written and a great allegory for many a things ( )

Second time reading. First time was many years ago and I just didn't get it. This time I had a much more clear and deep understanding of what was going on, the theme, and the symbolism. It was awful - just as Orwell intended. I felt angry, I felt frustrated, I could see similarities in so many political ways that are terribly uncomfortable. Absolutely loved the last line: The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which. ( )

Read when at school as a "prescribed reading" book.[return][return]Even as a teenager I was able to understand that it was an allegorical story where the farmyard is being used to describe and comment on Communism. It gives rise to some ideas that have entered the general language e.g. "all (animals) are equal, but some are more equal than others". [return][return]As someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s, and therefore very aware of the cold war, Communism and the nuclear threat, it was easy for me to grasp the anologies. It would be interesting to see if the generations that have come after the Soviet Empire fell in the 1990s understand and appreciate the book. ( )

Read when at school as a "prescribed reading" book.[return][return]Even as a teenager I was able to understand that it was an allegorical story where the farmyard is being used to describe and comment on Communism. It gives rise to some ideas that have entered the general language e.g. "all (animals) are equal, but some are more equal than others". [return][return]As someone who grew up in the 70s and 80s, and therefore very aware of the cold war, Communism and the nuclear threat, it was easy for me to grasp the anologies. It would be interesting to see if the generations that have come after the Soviet Empire fell in the 1990s understand and appreciate the book. ( )

Muy buena analogía. Me parece una mejor representación de lo que es el totalitarismo que la de 1984 ( )

Hated, hated, hated this book. But maybe I should give it more than a few pages next time? I know I am "supposed" to read it. ( )

satire of totalitarianism

رائعة جداً
تحكي قصة حيوانات تقوم بثورة على صاحب المزرعة
و ما حدث بعد ذلك
تكمن روعتها في محاكاة حكم الأنظمة الديكتاتورية
و كيف أن الشعارات تعاكس ما على أرض الواقع
رواية جميلة و ربما فعلاً تستحق جائزة أفضل كتاب
في القرن العشرين ( )

I was interested to read novel for the first time. The story based on the group of animals who was against of the farmer because they want to live equal, free and happy life that the farmer was not given to them.

I read it. It's a classic. I just didn't like it. I don't like when animals talk. It's creepy.

1.5 stars. ( )