(Published 1945, paperback edition 141 pages)
To write a review of one of the most famous and influential 20th-Century books seems almost a waste of time. Mr. Orwell's classic is practically required reading in all American high schools. My son, who is in 8th grade, was assigned it. I haven't read "Animal Farm" in about ten years and gave it another whirl so my son and I could discuss it. The problem with kids tackling this classic at such a young age is they don't understand the times in which the book was written. I'm 51-years-old and rarely meet anyone who enjoyed reading "Animal Farm" while in school. Usually, it was after they had seasoned a little with age that they returned to Orwell's piece and found it much more insightful and enjoyable. This is sad because an early introduction to the author's book without understanding the historical context discourages kids from reading many other old, great works.
Mr. Orwell, whose actual name was Eric Blair, had a heck of a time getting this baby published. Despite being a socialist, the author was highly critical of Communism at a time in which the Soviet Union was our allies in the war against Adolf Hitler. My suggestion to readers is to first do a little research about Joseph Stalin (the pig Napolean) and Leon Trotsky (the pig Snowball) as well as understand how the Soviet Union and any totalitarian regime functions. It even takes a very brief broadside at religion depicted by the raven Moses.
"Animal Farm" is an important work explaining how people in power manipulate the ignorant masses and is very much relevant in even how democracies use propaganda (the sycophant pig Squealer) to sway public opinion. Mr. Orwell's two most famous books, "Animal Farm" and "1984" are not written in colorful prose but very much thought-provoking pieces that rightly make them worth reading.
(Meyers - A
few years ago, I started writing, under the pseudonym Franklin the
Mouse, short reviews at Amazon's web site. This is my most recent
review #292)
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