Product Description

Having got rid of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite among them takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the old ways. Orwell's chilling story of the betrayal of idealism through tyranny and corruption, is as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published in 1945.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22685 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 95 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Since its publication in 1946, George Orwell's fable of a workers' revolution gone wrong has been recognized as a classic of modern political satire. Fuelled by Orwell's intense disillusionment with Soviet Communism, Animal Farm is a nearly perfect piece of writing--both an engaging story and an allegory that actually works. When the downtrodden beasts of Manor Farm oust their drunken human master and take over management of the land, all are awash in collectivist zeal. Everyone willingly works overtime, productivity soars and for one brief, glorious season, every belly is full. The animals' Seven Commandment credo is painted in big white letters on the barn. All animals are equal. No animal shall drink alcohol, wear clothes, sleep in a bed or kill a fellow four-footed creature. Those that go upon four legs or wings are friends and the two-legged are, by definition, the enemy. Too soon, however, the pigs, who have styled themselves leaders by virtue of their intelligence, succumb to the temptations of privilege and power. "We pigs are brainworkers. The whole management and organisation of the farm depend on us. Day and night, we are watching over your welfare. It is for your sake that we drink that milk and eat those apples." While this swinish brotherhood sells out the revolution, cynically editing the Seven Commandments to excuse their violence and greed, the common animals are once again left hungry and exhausted, no better off than in the days when humans ran the farm. Satire Animal Farm may be, but it's a stony reader who remains unmoved when the stalwart workhorse, Boxer, having given his all to his comrades, is sold to the glue factory to buy booze for the pigs. Orwell's view of Communism is bleak indeed, but given the history of the Russian people since 1917, his pessimism has an air of prophecy. --Joyce Thompson

Review
Well-written, thought-provoking, funny and above all short, it is considered perfect for the attention span of the MTV generation. For those who have yet to have the pleasure it is a satire on Stalinism in which animals take over a farm. Inspired by the vision of the prize boar Old Major, the animals of Manor Farm rebel against their human masters and establish a model democratic community in which 'all animals are equal'. But power corrupts, and gradually the dictator pig, Napoleon, betrays the animals back into slavery. ('All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others.') (Kirkus UK)

A modern day fable, with modern implications in a deceiving simplicity, by the author of Dickens. Dali and Others (Reynal & Hitchcock, p. 138), whose critical brilliance is well adapted to this type of satire. This tells of the revolt on a farm, against humans, when the pigs take over the intellectual superiority, training the horses, cows, sheep, etc., into acknowledging their greatness. The first hints come with the reading out of a pig who instigated the building of a windmill, so that the electric power would be theirs, the idea taken over by Napoleon who becomes topman with no maybes about it. Napoleon trains the young puppies to be his guards, dickers with humans, gradually instigates a reign of terror, and breaks the final commandment against any animal walking on two legs. The old faithful followers find themselves no better off for food and work than they were when man ruled them, learn their final disgrace when they see Napoleon and Squealer carousing with their enemies... A basic statement of the evils of dictatorship in that it not only corrupts the leaders, but deadens the intelligence and awareness of those led so that tyranny is inevitable. Mr. Orwell's animals exist in their own right, with a narrative as individual as it is apt in political parody. (Kirkus Reviews)

Synopsis
Having got rid of their human master, the animals of Manor Farm look forward to a life of freedom and plenty. But as a clever, ruthless elite among them takes control, the other animals find themselves hopelessly ensnared in the old ways. Orwell's chilling story of the betrayal of idealism through tyranny and corruption, is as fresh and relevant today as when it was first published in 1945.

Customer Reviews

Political satire at its best
I first read George Orwell's Animal Farm in high school. And even though I was far more interested in Molly Ringwald films and boys, I quickly came to appreciate Orwell's subtle humor. Fast forward to 2008 and I'm reading Animal Farm to my almost 8 year-old daughter, who equally enjoyed it. This is political satire at its best. What's more, it's not condescending or judgmental. Orwell doesn't tell you what to think, he just sets the scene and allows you to reach whatever conclusion you come to.

And here's the real beauty of this classic tale.... scholars and politicos laud it, yet 8 year-old little girls can still comprehend and enjoy it. That, perhaps more than anything else, is its finest point.

It is clear that Orwell is sadly misinterpreted by many readers
Orwell was a socialist and fought with the POUM and was a member of the ILP. This quote is from the preface of the 1947 Ukrainian Edition of Animal Farm:

Indeed, in my opinion, nothing has contributed so much to the corruption of the original idea of Socialism as the belief that Russia is a Socialist country and that every act of its rulers must be excused, if not imitated.

And so for the past ten years I have been convinced that the destruction of the Soviet myth was essential if we wanted a revival of the Socialist movement.



The idea that Animal Farm is a critique of socialism, therefore, is complete corruption of what Orwell was arguing. What Orwell was criticising was the counter-revolution that took place in Russia under Stalin (Napoleon). This book should be read in its proper context to see the message that Orwell is trying to present. It is more subtle than simply 'socialism/communism is bad'.

Can be enjoyed at more than one level
Timeless classic that can be enjoyed at various levels: adults, especially those familiar with Soviet history, can appreciate the political allegory, while children could still appreciate this as an amusing and frightening tale of animals taking over from people. Orwell's original foreword, reproduced at the end of this edition, is also worth reading for its salutary lesson on how liberal intellectuals can sometimes fool themselves into supporting the most illiberal regimes.