Review// Animal Farm by George Orwell

Author: George Orwell
Series: Standalone
Genre: Classic
Release Date: August 17, 1945
Book Length: 95 pages 
Publisher: Penguin Books
Review: 5/5

Goodreads Synopsis:

Mr. Jones of Manor Farm is so lazy and drunken that one day he forgets to feed his livestock. The ensuing rebellion under the leadership of the pigs Napoleon and Snowball leads to the animals taking over the farm. Vowing to eliminate the terrible inequities of the farmyard, the renamed Animal Farm is organized to benefit all who walk on four legs. But as time passes, the ideals of the rebellion are corrupted, then forgotten. And something new and unexpected emerges…

My Review:

This book was wild – or at least, it was domesticated at first and then got progressively wilder after the animals overthrew human leadership in favour of their own rules:

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.
2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.
3. No animal shall wear clothes.
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal.
7. All animals are equal.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is a definitive example of what can happen when the fight for freedom quickly turns to a bloodthirsty hunt for power. Progressing through the story was so interesting, because as the pigs gained power, the other animals started to question the original commandments, and honestly, so did I:

1. Four legs good, two legs, better
2. [Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is inferior].
3. [Only pigs wear clothes].
4. No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets.
5. No animal shall drink alcohol to excess.
6. No animal shall kill any other animal [unless they defy the leader].
7. [Pigs are superior].

“Was the original commandment ‘no animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets?’ Maybe? No wait, it can’t be… I don’t remember that.” That is something I thought to myself while reading, and if I couldn’t definitively remember something so small after like 60 pages, how can you expect those who have been brainwashed by propaganda and corruption to distinguish between what is real and what isn’t either? That is why I gave this 5 stars – I felt the ‘aha’ moment many times while reading, and I think the author did an excellent job packing such a powerful story line in such a short book.

-Catherine

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