The 50th book! My goal was to complete 50 by the end of June, and I made it with two weeks to spare! And what better way to start off the second half of the year than with the book that has been #1 on my "to-read" list on Goodreads: Animal Farm, by George Orwell.
The animals of Manor Farm are tired of being under the tyrannical rule of their alcoholic master, Mr. Jones. Spurred on by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, the animals rise up in revolt, banish their incompetent master, and rechristen their home "Animal Farm" -- the first farm to be managed, owned, and controlled solely by animals. The animals come up with the "Seven Commandments", condemning human behavior, and seek to create a complete society where everyone works and everyone is equal. But over time, as the pigs (spurred on by Napoleon) encroach more and more on the rights and privileges, the other animals begin to wonder if their glorious revolution paved the way for something much worse, and if they weren't better off before.I heard about Animal Farm many years ago, but for some reason, never picked it up. I read the whole thing in about two hours (couldn't put it down), and enjoyed it immensely. Orwell was writing a satire of the infamous Russian Revolution and the years of developing communism in the Soviet Union. Jones is a parody of Tsar Nicholas II, Napoleon is Josef Stalin, Snowball is Leon Trotsky, and so on. It is amazing to watch as Napoleon, the other pigs, and the dogs gradually seize total control of the farm, simply by insisting that if their orders are disobeyed, then Jones, the "evil" former master, might come back. It's scary to see that just propaganda and fear can propel people (or animals, in this case) to allow their rights and freedoms to be taken away.
The turning point, I felt, really came when Napoleon forces the animals to turn on Snowball. Until that point, there is some balance of power, and the hope that the animals' equality might continue. But once Snowball is chased off, it's the end of hope for the animals, and the last breath of fairness is gone. My favorite character was Boxer, the horse (and I won't mention what happens, but I will say that it sucks), who represents the working class, always hopeful that if they work hard and do their best, and toe the line, that things will work out for them.
I thought as a satire, this book was brilliant -- something that even a young person could follow and understand. Orwell writes a fantastically chilling story about what happens when people -- or animals -- try to create a utopia, and why it is always doomed to failure.
Rating: **** and 1/2
Animal Farm is about the animals on a farm uprising and throwing out their unjust owner in order to run the place themselves. It is a thinly-veiled jab at tyrannical regimes and succeeds tremendously. I breezed through this one and honestly could find nothing wrong with it. The characters are all believable and quite a few are even highly likable. My favorite is the horse Boxer who is renowned for his strength, both of body and character. You have to kind of suspend your disbelief when reading Animal Farm because of some of the things that happen, but it is well worth it. The animals decide that the humans get all of the benefit for their hard work and they are tired of it. Led by two pigs, Napoleon and Snowball, they overthrow the humans. I won't give a bunch of spoilers, but the story unfolds in such a way as to show how a dictatorship comes to be and how the animals went from one form of slavery to another.
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