Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Animal Farm

Oh dear Gods, this was even worse than I thought lol its really funny how many people regard this book as a true parallel to the October Revolution and the URSS experience, when it's all based on lies and exaggerations from mainly the USA - and hey, it worked, because almost everyone buys it without questioning, and if someone does question it, they are labeled as "stalinists" (as such thing exists lol Stalin only followed Marxism AND he did not make the decisions alone, there were councils, called soviets) and discarded. Anyways, the book itself was not even that good, it just worked because everyone linked it to the barely-underlying-message. Orwell himself worked for the British Imperial Police, he's no saint (but that no one dares acknowledge).
Anyways, if you want to read it just because it's considered a classic, do it knowing it's full of anticommunism sentiment and it's not genuine. I would just tell you not to waste your time, but you do you - I myself only listened to it to be able to criticize it and refute it. Everyone has their reasons. You could consider it a "hate reading" haha

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sinaprst's review against another edition

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challenging dark inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Sure, the story is quite obvious for anyone who hasn`t lived under a rock for the past 200 years. The paralles to the Soviet Union are basically slapped into your face. But that doesn`t have to be a bad thing and it definitely doesn`t mean that this isn`t genius nonetheless.
It is so interesting to see the animals derail further and further from their communist ideals to a totalitarian regime that is no better if not worse compared to their situation before. The society they have in the end in no way resembles what they wanted in the beginning and is as communist as I am straight.
I especially liked the way that Orwell showed the effect that the propaganda and gaslighting had on the animals and how they slowly but surely turned into conforming slaves who couldn`t and mustn`t speak their mind. They were totally depended on what the pigs told them and the pigs obviously told them whatever suited their current agenda best.
The pigs unashamed twisted and turned rules, facts and even the other animals memory so much it made me wonder how anyone who behaves like this gets to sleep peacefully at night. I got like second-hand guilt from this. They turned more and more into what they were so heavily against in the beginning.
until they in the end literally turn into their biggest enemy

It is such a great allegory for how lust for power and corruption destroys even the purest of ideals and how propaganda has been working and is still working in totalitarian countries. IMO this should be required reading in school. It`s brilliant.

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luca_18's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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thefemale_nickmiller's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I’m ride or die for Clover, Benjamin and bless his heart Boxer.

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marinasslibrary's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It is pretty clear from the beginning, due to the time this book was written and the storyline, that this book is a single metaphor thematisizing WW2, especially the russian side (communism, UDSSR). However I did really enjoy reading it and symphazising with some of the animals on the farm.
Of course you can never compare a classic like this to modern literature and I never will. I think classics should always be viewed and reviewed in context of the time they were written in.
And for the 1940s George Orwell did really create a lovely book adressing and discussing some struggles and problems faced during the time of WW2. Through which the readers are fronted with current problems in a beautiffuly written and tragic story about a small farm rebelling against the rest of the world.

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hydro_homie's review against another edition

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dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kashby's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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