Review: Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The book is about a revolution taking place in the "Animal Farm", in which animals overthrown their human masters, and implement Animalism, in which all animals are free and equal!

I started this book being very skeptical. I read that it was a satire and a critique of communism, so I was wondering if this was going to be some sort of glorification of capitalism. I started reading it, and immediately felt uncomfortable. The book starts with an old pig, Old Major, talking about the plight of the farm animals, about being exploited, and about his desire to be free and have a better life, not only for him but for all animals. So I am thinking, this is meant to be satire, but it’s just talking about how a sentient race is trying to get free from oppression from slavery and from cruelty - is that meant to be bad or absurd? Is the author's point that inferior races are just meant to accept their fate? That the animals (the masses) cannot take care of themselves without masters? (this is not as facetious as it sounds, there are lots of captains of industries who really think that). Or was the criticism against communism as trivial as to say that the problem with it is that it promised to abolish all luxuries, even small ones, and that is why it couldn't work? (To be clear, I do agree with putting limits on big luxuries - no one needs 5 mansions and 3 yachts; but I do think that small luxuries, such as nice clothes and the occasional nice meal, are not anathema to solidarity and empathy towards people in need).

But it quickly becomes apparent that the criticism is of the leaders of the new movement - as soon as the revolution happens, they immediately start taking advantage of it and of everyone else. Basically, the whole revolution was a lie - they didn't get rid of masters, they just became the new masters! Animalism was never really implemented - it existed only in name, but not in practice and spirit.

I came to the book feeling very skeptical, but it won me over quickly. The parallels to history are fantastic! So "animalism" is "communism", the pigs are the communist leaders, with Old Major being an amalgamation of Marx and Lenin, Napoleon being Stalin, and Snowball being Trotsky. The story is a surprisingly informative and delicious satire of Stalinism and the Soviet Union!

Past 1/3 of the book, things really pick up. Napoleon (Stalin) is in full control, and things start to get real. The absurdities of the new regime grow day by day, and the similarities to the real history become starker and bleaker. As time passes, things just get bleaker and bleaker, and then outright tragic. When we come to denouement, years have passed, and the animal farm has achieved some stability. But then, when you thought you knew where it was heading, it finally arrives at its conclusion - that the ultimate stage of the Stalinist regime is good old capitalism - the pigs were, after all, capitalist pigs!

Did Orwell really predict the current state of capitalist Russia???

I liked that the author also criticized the other farms (i.e. countries) for demonizing the Animal Farm right from the start, lying about it, and minimizing their achievements; and that once they realized that Animal Farm was a more brutal place for the animals and a more profitable farm (at least for their masters) than the other farms, they looked at it with envy, and desired to emulate those aspects.

After reading it, I learned that the author (Orwell) was a Democratic Socialist, and that the book was written towards the end of World War II, when the UK was an ally to Russia! That just made the story much more remarkable!

Additional note: as a follow-up, I read "The Death of Stalin" right after this book - perfect coda to the story!

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Review: Snuff (Discworld, #39; City Watch, #8)

Snuff by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great book. Dynamic, witty, and as always, lots of fun!

In a lot of books I have read recently, it feels like it's mostly setup and then you have all the action at the end of the book; or the reader knows the answers to the mystery central to the plot from the beginning, and you're just waiting for the protagonist to catch up. This book is neither of these two cases: there is always something happening, the pacing is perfect, it's always moving the story forward. All of it is a good read, the journey is just as good as the destination; and the ending is just right!

If you know the Discworld canon and division of books, this is a "City Watch" story. However, it's more of a Sam Vimes story, not the whole City Watch, because it takes place during Vimes vacation trip to the country. In this story, Vimes has risen to the position of Duke, is incredibly well-regarded by all, recognized as a very important person not only in Ankh-Morpork but also by the dwarves and trolls. But then Vetinari somehow manipulates him (through his wife) into taking a vacation in the country, to go visit his wife's family manor, of which Vimes is now lord.

The main plot is a murder mystery, with Vimes trying to solve the murder and bring those responsible to justice. At times it feels like it is riffing on a Sherlock Holmes story, with Vimes standing for Sherlock and his gentleman's gentleman Willikins for Dr. Watson. The story is set on the countryside, and it's meant to be evoke (in a satirical way) stories in the English countryside from the 1800s - think Jane Austen, Emily Bronte. He actually has a minor character called Jane who is most definitely the local incarnation of Jane Austen. Thus following this theme, the book has a great exploration of the questions of class and elitism in Britain.

A big theme is racism, nominally about racism against goblins; but calling out all the ways a group of people can be racist against other groups of people. And how first it's racist towards one group; and once that group gains acceptance, racist against another group; and once that one is also acceptable, another, and so on. But surprisingly, it's not just about overt racism, but about not doing anything while others are being racist; about just sitting idling by, letting things be because that's how they always have been. The story literally says that everyone should take up arms if that's what is needed to combat racism. Vimes shames the good citizens of the village for failing to do that.

The book has many scenes and dialogues full of self-reflection, of digressions, of wonderings about life, morality, about what is right and wrong. It feels very introspective and retrospective, as if the author is reflecting on his own life. It doesn't shy away from exploring some quite dark themes, like racism mentioned above, but also violence, slavery, exploitation, the condition of misery of poor people. It is maybe as if the author thought as he was getting older and closer to being unable to write anymore, he better address some more serious topics while he had a chance, before he was unable to. I think this brings some maturity to the Discworld series as we near its end, and it is better for it.

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