Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Animal Farm: A Fairy Story by George Orwell

For my first book review, I think I will start with a piece of classic literature -- not to mention one of my favorite stories. I concede that my experience with this book was colored by my exposure to the story via film and television; I regret not having read this sooner. It is a true exemplar of George Orwell's work. He takes a the idea of a "fairy story" in which a tale is told without moralizing or asking deep questions using extremely flat characters who simply are who they are. It allows him to achieve something so much more powerful in the blunt way in which we see the transitions from "Manor Farm" to "Animal Farm" and finally back to "Manor Farm" as the society of the animals develops into something frightening -- or should I say, something frighteningly familiar? I can only hope this book -- along this 1984 -- to stem the tide of things to come -- even though there are many signs of them happening already....