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Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell
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Animal Farm: A Fairy Story (original 1945; edition 1996)

by George Orwell (Author), Russell Baker (Preface)

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60,54287816 (4)1156
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution has become an intimate part of our contemporary culture, with its treatment of democratic, fascist, and socialist ideals through an animal fable. The animals of Mr. Jones' Manor Farm are overworked, mistreated, and desperately seeking a reprieve. In their quest to create an idyllic society where justice and equality reign, the animals of Manor Farm revolt against their human rulers, establishing the democratic Animal Farm under the credo, "All Animals Are Created Equal." Out of their cleverness, the pigs??Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball??emerge as leaders of the new community. In a development of insidious familiarity, the pigs begin to assume ever greater amounts of power, while other animals, especially the faithful horse Boxer, assume more of the work. The climax of the story is the brutal betrayal of Boxer, when totalitarian rule is reestablished with the bloodstained postscript to the founding slogan: "But Some Animals Are More Equal than Others."

This astonishing allegory, one of the most scathing satires in literary history, remains as fresh and relevant as the day it was published… (more)

▾Book information
Member:AJUllman
Title:Animal Farm: A Fairy Story
Authors:George Orwell (Author)
Other authors:Russell Baker (Preface)
Info:Berkley (1996), Edition: 50 Anv, 128 pages
Collections:Your library, Favorites
Rating:*****
Tags:None

Work Information

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)

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  1. 612
    1984 by George Orwell (Phr33k, hpfilho)
    Phr33k: The theory behind the two books is the same, and if you enjoyed Animal Farm, you should read Nineteen Eighty-four
  2. 285
    Lord of the Flies by William Golding (mikeg2, sturlington)
  3. 111
    One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn (BeeQuiet)
    BeeQuiet: Whilst this book follows one day in the life of a Soviet prisoner in a gulag as opposed to merely a worker, this is still a stunning indictment of the revolution's disregard of human life.
  4. 60
    Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler (chrisharpe)
  5. 1410
    The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (mariamreza)
    mariamreza: Another great use of allegory.
  6. 106
    Watership Down by Richard Adams (mcenroeucsb)
  7. 31
    The Descendants of Cain (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European) by Sun-Won Hwang (CGlanovsky)
    CGlanovsky: Portrait of the mechanics and effect of Soviet-style communist takeover.
  8. 53
    Persepolis II: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi (weener)
    weener: A good real-life example of what a repressive government can do.
  9. 31
    Snowball's Chance by John Reed (infiniteletters)
  10. 20
    Fifteen Dogs: An Apologue by André Alexis (vancouverdeb)
    vancouverdeb: Both books use animals to illustrate human shortcomings and a base nature, animals gain human consciousness,both are allegories , and dystopian novels.
  11. 31
    Red Plenty: Industry! Progress! Abundance! Inside the Fifties Soviet Dream by Francis Spufford (lewbs)
    lewbs: Both books look at the shortcomings and hypocrisies of communism with some fine humor.
  12. 21
    Feed by M. T. Anderson (SqueakyChu)
  13. 10
    Beasts of England by Adam Biles (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: A sequel to Animal Farm.
  14. 54
    The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek (sirparsifal)
  15. 32
    Utopian Tales From Weimar by Jack Zipes (aulsmith)
    aulsmith: Some of the stories in this anthology are earlier allegories with animals forming governments. The politics is just as sharp as Orwell's.
  16. 11
    Mort(e) by Robert Repino (ShelfMonkey)
  17. 00
    The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (Cecrow)
  18. 12
    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (kaledrina)
  19. 36
    Utopia by Thomas More (luzestrella)
    luzestrella: marvelous!! definitively worth reading
  20. 06
    Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Perspectives on labour.

(see all 23 recommendations)

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date ▼ | votes
Showing 1-5 of 816 (next | show all)
"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others".

Me encantó. ( )
  aagusbenitez | Jun 17, 2024 |
Ok, I've finally read it. I can tick that life achievement and not ever read it again.

I knew almost everything about this book before reading it and didn't felt inclined to read it myself because I knew it would be unsettling and depressing. However the elusiveness of never being able to say I had actually read it annoyed me to such a degree that I tore through it today in a couple of hours. And it was... unsettling and depressing which is what Orwell was going for, so good on you Orwell.

Very well written but I won't be revisiting it. ( )
  ChariseH | May 25, 2024 |
This is a book that was required reading in high school because we were still concerned about the USSR at that time. And there is really not much reason to rehash Orwell's take on Soviet socialism.

What is interesting to me is how relevant this book still seems to be in that the narrative can be overlayed on almost any society. Specifically, this reading made me think of A Canticle for Liebowitz and the idea that history repeats itself especially if we don't pay attention and make sure to educate new generations on past historical mistakes. ( )
  GrammaPollyReads | May 16, 2024 |
Any coincidence...Animal Farm reads too much like human politics. As it should. A true human tale about human characters and systems narrated and acted by players from the Animal Kingdom. ( )
  P.C.Menezes | May 15, 2024 |
An allegorical story depicting the deterioration of an egalitarian ideal society. In this story it was the pig's superior intelligence that fed their egos which led to a collapse into a stratified society of haves and have nots. The story was quite obvious with few nuances. ( )
  snash | May 13, 2024 |
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Showing 1-5 of 816 (next | show all)
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▾Published reviews
▾Other authors

» Add other authors (56 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Orwell, George—primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Abella, RafaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Baker, RussellPrefacesecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Batchelor, JoyIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Blake, QuentinIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bradbury, MalcolmIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bulla, GuidoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cosham, RalphNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Cotton, TomTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Crick, BernardIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Crick, BernardContributorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Davison, Peter HobleyForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Gueillet, SuzonIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Halas, JohnIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Heuvelmans, TonAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
HOLTSCH, HeikeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Low, JosephCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Miro, JoanCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Muggeridge, MalcolmIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pekkanen, PanuTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Quéval, JeanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Rayyan, OmarCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Reher, LotharCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ross, AnthonyTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Scarpi, N.O.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Steadman, RalphIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Sutton, HumphreyCover photographsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Szíjgyártó, LászlóTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tasso, BrunoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tournaire, J.-P.Editorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Tucker, GeraldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wahlén, JanTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Walter, MichaelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Woodhouse, C. M.Introductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
▾Series and work relationships

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▾Common Knowledge
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Canonical title
Animal Farm
Original title
Animal Farm: a Fairy Story
Alternative titles
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story
Original publication date
1945
1945-08-17
People/Characters
Napoleon (pig)
Snowball (pig)
Benjamin (donkey)
Squealer (pig)
Boxer (horse)
Important places
Manor Farm, England, UK
Animal Farm, England, UK
England, UK
Important events
Related movies
Animal Farm (1954 | IMDb)
Animal Farm (1999 | IMDb)
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes.
Quotations
For once Benjamin consented to break his rule, and he read out to her what was written on the wall. There was nothing there now except a single Commandment. It ran:
ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
Tha a h-uile creutair co-ionann ach tha cuid a chreutairean nas co-ionannaiche na cuid eile.
These people don't see that if you encourage totalitarian methods, the time may come when they will be used against you instead of for you. [from preface]
Make a habit of imprisoning Fascists without trial, and perhaps the process won't stop at Fascists. [from preface]
To exchange one orthodoxy for another is not necessarily an advance. [from preface]
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Rendell, Ruth
Wilson, Edmund
Original language
English
Canonical DDC/MDS
823.914
823.912
Canonical LCC
PR6029.R8
▾References
▾Book descriptions
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

George Orwell's classic satire of the Russian Revolution has become an intimate part of our contemporary culture, with its treatment of democratic, fascist, and socialist ideals through an animal fable. The animals of Mr. Jones' Manor Farm are overworked, mistreated, and desperately seeking a reprieve. In their quest to create an idyllic society where justice and equality reign, the animals of Manor Farm revolt against their human rulers, establishing the democratic Animal Farm under the credo, "All Animals Are Created Equal." Out of their cleverness, the pigs??Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball??emerge as leaders of the new community. In a development of insidious familiarity, the pigs begin to assume ever greater amounts of power, while other animals, especially the faithful horse Boxer, assume more of the work. The climax of the story is the brutal betrayal of Boxer, when totalitarian rule is reestablished with the bloodstained postscript to the founding slogan: "But Some Animals Are More Equal than Others."

This astonishing allegory, one of the most scathing satires in literary history, remains as fresh and relevant as the day it was published

▾Library descriptions

No library descriptions found.

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▾LibraryThing members' description
Book description
The famous satire of the Russian Revolution by George Orwell is such a part of our present society that we often forget who wrote the original lines. It's the story of how Mr. Jones' Manor Farm becomes Animal Farm, a totally democratic society founded on the belief that all animals are created equal. In a slow evolution that bears an unsettling familiarity, the pigs Napoleon, Squealer, and Snowball emerge as leaders of the new community as a result of their cunning. The savage betrayal of the loyal horse Boxer culminates in the re-establishment of totalitarian control with the bloodstained postscript to the founding slogan: But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.
Haiku summary
"The old king is dead!
"The farm overflows with good things."
"We'll let you know."

(one-horse.library)
"Wake, Boxer, with cause!"
Friends offer snake-sly wisdom.
The wheel turns, grates on.

(one-horse.library)

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WorldCat

Genres

Melvil Decimal System (DDC)

823.912Literature › English › English fiction › Modern Period › 1901-1999 › 1901-1945

LC Classification

PR6029.R8Language and Literature › English › English Literature › 1900-1960

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