Animal Farm

by George Orwell

Review of Animal Farm by George Orwell

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       George Orwell's 1984 is one of my all-time favorite books.  Therefore, I was very excited to read Animal Farm, which is considered to be his other masterpiece.  Animal Farm, at a first glance, appears to be a children's book.  It is about a group of animals who overthrow their human owner, drive him away from the farm, and take the farm for their own.  Kind of seems like a Charlotte's Web-esque story.  But after that, everything changes.  All animals are supposed to be equal on the farm, but with their superior intellects, the pigs quickly rise above the other animals.  And eventually, the pig leader, Napoleon, becomes the absolute ruler of Animal Farm.  The book is not for children.  Like 1984, it is dark, violent, and carries many adult themes.  Unlike 1984, however, it is very lacking in many areas.  First off, it is less than 100 pages.  It always irritates me when someone attempts to cram a full-blown novel into a novella-sized format.  If you wish to write a novel, write one.  If you wish to write a short story, write one.  Do not try to overlap them.  Plot and characters will always suffer from this lazy style of writing.  Animal Farm has a lot in common with Joseph Conrad's most famous book, Heart of Darkness.  They are both shy of 100 pages (depending on the volume).  They both have excellent themes and motifs, but their respective authors simply did not take the time to develop them.  Animal Farm is a choppy little book that sets up the story nicely, then goes downhill from there.  It boasts very little character development and very rushed plot development because it is not formatted in the style of a short story or novella, it is formatted with all the descriptive qualities and drawn-out sentence structure of any regular novel.  It was quite a disappointment, and does not deserve all the critical acclaim.  Many teens read this book in high school along with Lord of the Flies and The Catcher in the Rye (for some reason, those three seem to be favorites of teachers).  It would be nice if focus was taken off Animal Farm and moved to 1984.  At such an age, people can learn a lot from 1984, much more than can be learned from Animal Farm.  I'm glad I elected to read this all in one evening, enabling me to quickly move on to more worthwhile endeavors.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Count Orad

       I read this book as a child and I just thought it was a tale about a farm where the animals rebelled, I did not think much of it. Then I read it again as a teenager and have read it several times ever since. I didn't fully understand the book until my teens where I had a much more open mind and I slowed down with the book and analyzed what Orwell was writing. I particularly enjoy Orwell's style and am going to purchase the complete works of his soon. I cannot believe that I have yet to read nineteen eighty-four as I like Orwells vauge-ish style of writing about serious political topics.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Elliot

       Animal farm is good.  I wouldn't say that it is a fantastic peace of art, but it is good.  The writing style is consistent and simple.  This makes it easy and enjoyable to read.  However the straightforwardness makes the book less complex than most good books should be.  But this book is an allegory and it does its job very well.  It riles up emotions and has a good ending.  This is a classic and a good one.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Oliver

       This is an ok book. Interesting. I also completely agree with Richard's review. I don't know why 1984 is so great when this book gets the same type of message across only in a much more tolerable way.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Shannon

       Ever since reading this book in junior high school, it has been a personal favorite. Enough so that later as a teacher it became one of my go to books to have my students read. One of the all time great last lines.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Jeff

       I am not sure why 1984 is so popular, Obviously I think it is a great book, but animal farm is able to get many of the same points across with much more effect, and in only 120 pages, an for that its a much greater achievment .

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Richard

       For what is essentially a short story of little more than 100 pages, this is truly a giant achievement in English literature. It is a dream of a book that has often been mistaken for a children's story by those of little perception who were unable to understand that it is in fact a powerful alegory concerning how power eventually corrupts the most noble intentions of man. It was an honour to read it.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Paul B.

       Animal Farm is a clever piece of unbridled originality. Unlike anything I've read before Orwell's story centers around animals who take over a farm after brutal mistreatment and erect their own form of rule. The story mirrors The Russian Revolution and subsequent Communist takeover. The character of Napolean is designed after Stalin and his propganda is spread through out the farm. After disavowing any human characteristics Napolean begins to walk upright in the end and the other animals couldn't tell the difference between pig and man. Orwell had a keen social mind and used his art of storytelling to comment on the positive and negative effects of socialism. The book is lean and told in an easy fable style of storytelling that could be read at a young age but would be much better understood as an adult. i highly recommend this novel and I would give it a 9 out of 10.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Frank Manner

       Animal Farm is a nicely written book which one can read end to end. Through this book, the author gives the anology of humans though the actions of animals.

Animal Farm by George Orwell was reviewed by Kishor

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