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Animal Farm by George Orwell
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Animal Farm (original 1945; edition 1974)

by George Orwell

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
59,71087416 (4)1150
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)

Member:writethebones
Title:Animal Farm
Authors:George Orwell
Info:New American Library (1974), Paperback
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:fiction, classics, British

Work Information

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)

  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. 106
    Watership Down by Richard Adams (mcenroeucsb)
  6. 1410
    The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (mariamreza)
    mariamreza: Another great use of allegory.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 31
    Snowball's Chance by John Reed (infiniteletters)
  10. 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.
  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. 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.
  14. 10
    Beasts of England by Adam Biles (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: A sequel to Animal Farm.
  15. 54
    The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek (sirparsifal)
  16. 11
    Mort(e) by Robert Repino (ShelfMonkey)
  17. 12
    The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier (kaledrina)
  18. 36
    Utopia by Thomas More (luzestrella)
    luzestrella: marvelous!! definitively worth reading
  19. 06
    Bullshit Jobs: A Theory by David Graeber (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Perspectives on labour.
  20. 110
    The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman (mcenroeucsb)

(see all 22 recommendations)

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» See also 1150 mentions

English (804)  Spanish (21)  French (6)  Italian (6)  Portuguese (5)  Dutch (5)  Portuguese (Brazil) (4)  Portuguese (Portugal) (3)  Hebrew (2)  Swedish (2)  Greek (1)  Esperanto (1)  Hungarian (1)  German (1)  Finnish (1)  Norwegian (1)  All languages (864)
Showing 1-5 of 804 (next | show all)
Great book! ( )
  nyshkin | Mar 20, 2024 |
an easy read, ironic and scary ( )
  highlandcow | Mar 13, 2024 |
Fantastic read

Statement above still standard years later. 4.5 stars Reread this book and found it just as great as the first time; although, I did want more from the character building … maybe I just wanted the story to keep going. Def something I recommend all of the time. ( )
  mybookloveobsession | Mar 12, 2024 |
Poignant, relevant, and slightly terrifying. Masterfully done. ( )
  erindarlyn | Jan 25, 2024 |
Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Animal death, murder, grief and loss depiction
Score: Nine points out of ten.
I own this book. Find this review on The StoryGraph.

So I finally read Animal Farm. When I found it at a library, I initially didn't want to read it, so I put it off for a while, but I could now order a copy for myself. So I did. Soon enough, Animal Farm arrives and I immediately had to pick it up and read it. When I finished it, it was one of my favourite novels. Who knew one of the last novels I read in 2023 was outstanding?

It starts with the first characters I see (the author introduced to me them all at once) like Old Major who, in the opening pages, convinces the other animals to revolt against the farmers who oppressed them for so long. His efforts were successful as the animals rioted at Manor Farm, expunge the owners and rename it to Animal Farm (hence the title.) Once they did, Snowball took over and established a new ideology: Animalism (which sounds like Communism.) Here's where Animal Farm shines: All the characters are allegories for historical figures and some events reflect the ones that happened in real life. It's such a brilliant fictional work, not to mention Animal Farm is a satire that works despite its lack of humour (because everything is an exaggeration.) Toward the latter half, Napoleon quietly takes over Animal Farm from Snowball by spreading propaganda and subtly changing the rules until they are a far cry from what they originally were. The ending was shocking as one dictatorship of farmers replaced another (an elite group of pigs ruling over other animals.) How chilling. ( )
  Law_Books600 | Jan 23, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 804 (next | show all)
"La Ferme des animaux" de George Orwell est un roman satirique qui sert d'allégorie à la révolution russe et à l'émergence de l'Union soviétique. L'histoire se déroule dans une ferme où les animaux, menés par les cochons, se rebellent contre leur fermier, M. Jones, en quête d'une société où tous les animaux seraient égaux. Les cochons, notamment Boule de Neige et Napoléon, deviennent les leaders et établissent des principes résumés dans le slogan "Tous les animaux sont égaux".

Cependant, au fil du temps, les cochons trahissent les idéaux de la rébellion et ne se distinguent plus des humains oppressifs qu'ils ont initialement renversés. Ils modifient progressivement les commandements de l'"Animalisme" pour les adapter à leurs propres désirs, consolidant ainsi leur pouvoir et créant une nouvelle hiérarchie. La célèbre phrase "Tous les animaux sont égaux, mais certains animaux sont plus égaux que d'autres" résume l'hypocrisie de la classe dirigeante.

Orwell utilise "La ferme des animaux" pour critiquer la corruption du pouvoir, la manipulation du langage à des fins politiques et les dangers du totalitarisme. La novella sert de mise en garde contre le risque que les révolutions soient cooptées par ceux qui cherchent le pouvoir, et elle reste un commentaire puissant et largement lu sur l'oppression politique et la nature humaine.
added by vibesandall | editLove Books Review (2023)
 
on the whole dull...a creaking machine...clumsy...
added by vibesandall | editThe New Republic, George Soule (Sep 2, 1946)
 

» Add other authors (56 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Orwell, Georgeprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
George OrwellAuthormain authorall editionsconfirmed
Orwell, Georgemain authorall editionsconfirmed
Orwell, Georgemain 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
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

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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]
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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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

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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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Penguin Australia

3 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia.

Editions: 0141182709, 0141036133, 014139305X

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

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