Luckybusiness itibaren Ressons-l'Abbaye, Francija itibaren Ressons-l'Abbaye, Francija

Animal Farm clearly deserves its reputation and remains to be a fabulous take on the rise and fall of authoritarian rule; namely the progression that saw the rise of Stalin in Russia. Despite the obvious references to Soviet Communism, the book can be applied to many different real-life cases of revolutions that end with dictatorship. No doubt many are already aware of the political representations of this book, so it does little to prattle on about the themes it represents. Instead I'd rather mention the wonderful cast of characters and how they simply and explicitly play their role. More often than not, these roles are plain to see; with the black raven Moses preaching about life after death; the nameless sheep continuously chanting the party line and drowning out individual thought; the forever content donkey Benjamin, wise in his ways, but remaining stoic in his zen attitude to rule... the list goes on. What I especially love about this book is the precise way that characterisation leads to representation - be it obviously (as with Boxer, the mighty worker) or sometimes rather inconspicuously (the often absent cat, for example). Whatever the message, it is delivered with care and with an efficient use of purposeful character that eloquently sums up entire groups amidst the class struggle of the farm. Above all of these individual themes is the beautifully portrayed evolution of information and motive. While the workers retain their easily-led, but genuinely honourable, motives for rebellion to the very end; they are sharply contrasted with the obvious manipulation from Squealer (the rulers' spin doctor) and the rest of the upper caste. Add to the fact that such depth and breadth of themes and commentaries are combined into a relatively short story, and the brilliance of George Orwell's writing is clearly seen. Well worth a read... and it doesn't take very long anyway!