Milorad Pavić in his book Landscape Painted with Tea suggests that we should read each book 3 times. One when we are younger than the main character, one when we have the same age and one more when we are older. As eccentric as it sounds it is actually a good advice. I have found very interesting the way my understanding of a book changes over the years and I tend to go back to the good books for a second or even a third reading.
Animal Farm and 1984 are excellent books although I think that the reality we are meant to live is more of a mixture of the 1984's big brother with the genetically modified citizens of the Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, another brilliant futuristic book that I love!
Welcome back to your homeland and to your gardens :)