Category Archives: Orwell, George

Animal Farm: Read from December 01 to 04, 2015

I had never read this novel before and though I knew what it was about I had never even had any of it spoiled for me so the entire experience was new. In some ways the novel is what I expected: a simplistic look at how a totalitarian regime can take power, but what I hadn’t expected was how correct, and even a little frightening it was.

While there is nothing new I could hope to add to the analysis of this novel, I did walk away with some very strong feeling that I must have spent over two hours here typing out as part of my review. Yet I keep deleting everything I write about this novel because of how politically charged it is and how my political opinions are just that: political opinions. Not only can I add nothing new to the analysis of this novel, I can add nothing new to the discussion of politics.

And maybe that’s the answer to the age-old problem of political systems: stop having such strong opinions about everything. The world needs less extremism, anyway.

So I’l just say this is a great book and I really enjoyed it and otherwise I’ll keep my opinions about it to myself.

65% done with Animal Farm

It’s obvious how much of what we think of communist Russia stems from how this book says it all went down. The problem is what could anyone have done differently? How many nations that turned rotten – Germany, Russia, Cambodia – have actually done anything about the few who took power? It seems as if it’s impossible to fight back until too late because it’s so much easier to accuse and incite than learn and empathize

25% done with Animal Farm

I never read Animal Farm. I know what it’s about, but I don’t even know any spoilers for the novel so it’s all completely fresh to me.

It’s simplistic, but that’s intentional and it’s fitting for the subject matter. I like the way it’s told in very straight forward language – we get a clear idea of the animal’s personalities quickly and clearly.

And as a primer for how these sorts of things happen, it’s clever