Animal Farm needs no introduction. This is the “two” in the “one two” Orwellian punch that starts with 1984. Farmer Jones is deposed and overthrown and the animals take over Manor Farm. It is quickly renamed and the Seven Commandments are enshrined in the utopia that is now Animal Farm. However, the fallible nature of all sentient beings takes over, as the “natural” hierarchy asserts itself soon enough. The animals are faithful to the idea of freedom from the yoke of man, but soon end up being yoked again, to an even worse master, one of their own kind.
The book is obviously superlative in its critique and dissection of communism and the metaphorical allusions to real people are too transparent to describe any further. What really pushes this book into the domain of genius from the merely excellent is the gradual breakdown and effacing of people’s memories, both individual and collective. The sacrosanct commandments are slowly edited under the cover of night, the old laws are broken and history itself is expunged of faunae deemed currently undesirable. Truly, Beria and the NKVD would be proud.
Conclusion: if you haven’t read this book multiple times by now, remedy that immediately.
ISBN: 978-0-141-03613-7
