"Animal Farm" by George Orwell

[zoupzuop2]

Any opinions? I was personally hooked after the first chapter. A wee bit short, but full of political irony (then again, not TOO much for kids 8-10 to worry about)

[brantelg]

I love that book. I just read that book this last year and I was hooked in it.

[AZheng]

It was notably lighter fare than 1984, which was really depressing. Animal Farm was actually humorous in parts, although I don't know whether Orwell intended it to be .

[Angel37]

I LOVED Animal Farm, but 1984 was a TON better in my opinion. Those political irony books always get my attention.
-Angel

[Heart of Sword]

I read it, and saw part of the movie, it's good.

[Mithrandir]

I had to read that for school. That's not saying I actually did, mind you, so I can't say how much I liked/disliked it. The only thing I remember is having to stand in front of the whole class and sing (to the tune of "Clementine"):

Beasts of England, beasts of Ireland,
beasts of every land and clime
harken to my joyfull tidings
of the golden future time.

The person after me had to sing it to the tune of "La Cucaracha," though, so I wan't all that bitter.

[bigsleepj]

I love Animal Farm. We read and discussed it to death in English Literature class in school, so there's a lot in the political allegory. It is (since no one said it but you know it probably) the history of the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union from the October Revolution in the late 1910's to a year before the end of World War 2.

That aside, it's also a good read for children although a lot will go over their heads. Orwell came from a Communist / Socialist background and first hand discovered the faults of these systems. "1984" has all the same themes as Animal Farm, only taken to a more "grown up" extent.

The humor is dark, but it has a purpose. There's so much to discuss about this book that I have no idea where to begin. It also is an incredibly sad tale.

CS Lewis preffered Animal Farm to 1984 for several reasons, by the way.

[Mithrandir]

There is definately a lot to discuss, but let's keep it civil, OK? (The implication here is that it is civil now, too.) Everyone knows the rules.

[Technomancer]

It's a good book, and I certainly recommed it to those who haven't read it. The novel pretty much covers the important parts of Soviet history up to the time of writing: the revolution, Trotsky/Stalin, the purges, etc. I liked the movie a lot less, or at least the version that we were shown in high school. Aside from not being all that good, the ending had been rewritten for ideological reasons by the American film-makers who produced it.

[The Mad Hatter]

I had a great time reading it, but I haven`t read it recently. the story of the communist revolution is very clear in it, but I think a lot of it also points out the differences between socialism and communism. I hope to read 1984 soon.

[bigsleepj]

The British animated movie of Animal Farm, by the way, was funded by the CIA in an attempt to make some anti-Communist propaganda. I actually enjoyed the animated movie.

The Made-For-TV movie is good, but essentially flawed because at times it seems to ignore the allegory and at times support it, making it slightly uneven.

[Kokhiri Sojourn]

I read this book a while back, took me a few hours, and I thought it was a superbly crafted allegory. Haven't read 1984... maybe someday. This novel always brought to mind the saying... "Absolute power corrupts absolutely..."

[Namu]

Ah, I've read this book last year for Civics. I thought it was very good, unlike my colleauges, who thought the book was horrible. But then again, they think that everything they read in class is horrible, so meh.

Very interesting that the pigs became what they hated at the end.

*loved Snowball....hehe*

[Ducky]

Animal farm was great, my dad recommended it years ago and I really enjoyed it... the thing with Orwell is that his books end with no hope and something about that just doesn't sit well with me.

[One and Only]

i enjoyed it very much

[EvilSporkofDoom]

Yep, I highly enjoyed Animal Farm, although I found 1984 more compelling. Haven't even heard of the film, though..

[Ingemar]

I liked the evangelistic raven, Moses, and his message of hope and Sugarcandy Mountain.

Otherwise, the rest of the book was bleak and cynical. Not that that is a bad thing.