- Author: George Orwell
- Year: 1946
- Famous for: Corrupt pigs, a noble cart-horse, and an anthem you won’t be able to get out of your head.
- Main character: There isn’t really a main character, but almost everything revolves around what the power-hungry pig, Napoleon, is up to.
George Orwell called Animal Farm a “fairy story,” but talking animals aside, what this book really is, is an allegory. That’s right. George Orwell was seriously concerned about the abuses of power he was seeing in the world—and the way citizens weren’t questioning these corrupt politicians. So he wrote a book criticizing those politicians’ bad behavior—and the people who allowed them to remain in power. That book, of course, is Animal Farm.
If this is all sounding a little dense and boring, don’t worry. Animal Farm is actually a pretty fun read. There are pig politicians and a religion-spouting raven and the most hard-working cart-horse you’ll ever meet. Throw in a little political treachery and a surprise twist at the end, and you’ve got a book that makes for entertaining—not to mention thought-provoking—reading.
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