Animal Farm is a classic novella written by George Orwell in 1945. Its a short read, written for young adults, and just a little over 100 pages. It can easily be read in a day or two or casually over a week. I read this book way back when I was in highschool but did a revisit and read it again a few weeks ago. Reading it an an adult was just as enjoyable for me as it was back in then.
I want to add that I've always really enjoyed the cover art of this particular publication. Way back when I originally purchased it I noticed a strange little symbol on the bottom of the front page.
At the time I had no idea what it meant but I remember noticing it and being very curious as to why it was there. It seemed out of place in a way, or maybe random. Seeing it again now I can easily place it as the "Obey" trademark of street artist Shepard Fairey.
He did the cover art for Orwells other book 1984. It another well known classic dystopian novel that you have no doubt heard about or read. Its also sitting in my shelf from back then.
Anyway, its a fitting symbol for the two books that both have very similar themes based on authoritarianism.
Okay, now back to Animal Farm.
The book is about a group of farm animals that rebel and revolt against their human master and create a society where all animals are equal. That was the hope anyway. What follows is a slow decent into an authoritarian dictatorship, in which some animals are considered "more equal than others." Life for the working class animals eventually returns to just the way it had always been when humans ran the farm, or maybe it was even worse. Who can say?
The book strongly parallels the events of the Russian revolution, which was why we read it back in Highschool. Certain animals in the book represent key Russian figures of that time: Carl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin, to name a few.
The book really outlines any sort of dystopian dictatorship though and reading it today, I can easily recognize some of these exact scenarios playing out in certain parts of the world right now. For that reason I would say that the story is as relevant today as it was back when it was originally written over 80 years ago.
I enjoyed reading Animal Farm again and would give it a recommendation if you like dystopian themes or even just if it sounds appealing to you. Four out of five stars from me.
