Animal Farm: A Fairy Story

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
Secker and Warburg - August 17, 1945
112 pages

This is a classic tale of humanity awash in totalitarianism. A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. First published during the epoch of Stalinist Russia, today it is clear that wherever and whenever freedom is attacked, and under whatever banner, the cutting clarity and savage comedy of Orwell's masterpiece is a message still ferociously fresh.

(Spoiler level: Minor/nonexistent)

I have read this book more times than I can count. It is my favorite novel. I have done all kinds of projects about this novel. I converted excerpts of this novel into different fonts to see which ones were more readable. I have an Animal Farm t-shirt from Out of Print Clothing (look it up, it's awesome). I quote it frequently. I sing "Beasts of England" when I'm bored. Some people I know think that this obsession is unhealthy, but I don't care.

The first time that I read this book was at a very young age when I thought that it was just a story about animals. The second time I was a few years older and knew that it was supposed to be about Stalinist Russia, but I was still pretty young and ended up overthinking it and searching for a greater meaning that I couldn't find when I was younger. Then I saw the 1959 cartoon animated movie and thought that I really couldn't remember that much about it, so I went back and enjoyed it again, this time being able to make the connections. A time after that I read it to enjoy it as a story, just like when I was six. Now every time I have insomnia I read at least half of it, which really isn't too much when you think about it.

That's what's so great about Animal Farm. You can read it as an animal story and as a metaphor. Not to mention, you can find multiple metaphors in it, as books about the novel show. Yes, it's about Stalinist Russia, but think of the treatment of the female animals on the farm compared to the male animals! You can appreciate Orwell's fiction writing as well as his satire.

As I said, it is truly my favorite novel.


Grade: A+