Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell (1996, Paperback, Reprint)

This is a book that I always considered more of a junior high level read, though I have just read it (I am 29). On the surface the story is entertaining and enjoyable. However, as with similar books (e.g. 1984, Fahrenheit 451, Darkness at Noon, etc) once one gets past the story, which was composed to carry the deeper message, you begin to think critically about what the author is really trying to communicate. I have read historical works regarding the Soviet Union and to see the near exact same events and methodologies evolving/being presented in such an otherwise entertaining way is really interesting. To me, this would be an excellent introductory text to Soviet history, just to the the students' feet wet, so to speak.
After reading this book I began to wonder. Orwell was an avid socialist, though he wrote Animal Farm and 1984 as a form of protest against dictatorship, communism, and totalitarianism. I began to wonder if this story was not only Orwell's jab at Soviet totalitarianism, but also against capitalism. Traditionally capitalists are represented by pigs, and in Animal Farm the pigs run the newly acquired farm in a manner reminiscent of some factory owners of the late 19th and early 20th century. For me, this book made me really contrast the totalitarian oppression of the Soviet Union and the capitalistic oppression of extreme capitalism (exploiting workers for the benefit of the owner). I won't make a statement on how appropriate or valid such a comparison is, but I will say that I have begun to see things in a slightly different light after reading this story. This is the type of book that allows the reader to experience something new and gives him/her just enough guidance and information to critically think about the implications of what happens in the story and how it may or may not apply to our current situations.
This was a short read, and not a very deep read, but what it lacks in presented depth it makes up for by how it catapults the reader into thoughts of different possibilities.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is an extremely rewarding book for readers about twelve and older, in accordance with some violent parts in the novel. The wording of Animal Farm makes it seem like a children's story (the full title reads Animal Farm: a Fairy Story) when in fact it is a cryptic warning about the dangers of communism. The book seems like an unfinished fairy tale: one where good does not triumph over evil in the end. A fairy tale without a moral. And that is, in itself, Orwell's warning: he ends the book openly, letting the reader think of all possible circumstances that could happen at Manor Farm. The novel is incredibly thought provoking, and many of the thoughts that are brought about relate to humanitarian concerns; thoughts of moral ethics, of rights and wrongs in a human society. I found the George Orwell's novel Animal Farm: A Fairy Story an entrancing and memorable short story of which I know the words and messages will remain with me throughout my life. Although this novel cannot amount for many words, what it lacks in volume (as is the case in many pint-sized books) is certainly made up in content. The content of this book will interest most readers immensely and cause them to more deeply consider their own ethics. I highly recommend Animal Farm to any reader above the age of eleven who enjoys a captivating story.

A quite excellent book and the best political satire I have ever read. Can only be fully appreciated if the reader is familliar with the history of the Russian Revolution. For those who aren't, here is a list of who, or what, I thought the various animals and events represented.

Jones:= The Aristocracy. The Old Major:= Lenin. Napoleon:= Stalin. Snowball:= Trotsky. Squealer:= Beria?. Boxer:= The male Peasants. Dolly:= The female Peasants. The Pigs:= The Communist Party. The Dogs:= The NKVD. The Sheep:= The Army. The Raven:= The Clergy. The Donkey:= The Intellectuals, maybe the Jews. The Windmill:= Stalin's 5 year plans. Frederick`s Farm:= Germany. Pilkington Farm:= The West. The Counterfeit Money:= The Molotov-Rippentrop Pact.

Hope this is useful.

Animal Farm is a great book and a true classic. This book is an interesting exploration of the creation of the USSR (or any socialist country) through the story of animal's that uprise against their farm owner.

The book is a must read at many levels of education from junior high school to university level classes.

This is a nice short read at under a 100 pages. The book is a great exploration of our past and possible future? I found it nice but really predictable. Yet, when it was written it is really a great story for the information that was available.

5/5 A must read from the classic literature genre

Latsyrhc
Tamarack Collectibles

Your literature teacher will tell you that this book is about Soviet Communism, but I think it has a much wider application. This generation needs to read it and recognize that they are the ones now in the barnyard. America is rapidly going totalitarian and it will only take one pre-arranged event to push us over the edge. When it happens, Animal Farm will be there to to remind us where we went wrong.