Am i going to be disappointed with Animal Farm....?

Animal Farm is different, but very, very good. Honestly, I like it better.

It’s completely different. It’s kind of like reading a children’s book, like The Wizard of Oz or Alice in Wonderland. You can either enjoy it as (a) a parable about greed or (b) a satirical account of the Russian revolution. Either way is educational.

Animal Farm is really great.

Would you be able to enjoy it if you didn’t know that it was by Orwell—that is, if you were not making such a direct comparison? Perhaps you should try to enjoy each book on its own terms.

I read it a few months ago. I liked it very much. I also liked 1984 very much. Animal Farm is very different, but a very good read all the same.

@aidje I don’t think its really possible to answer that question knowing that he is such an iconic author…. I think you are always going to draw comparisons between the works of the same author aren’t you..?? Perhaps this isn’t the way we should read but generally it’s certainly what most ends up happening in my experience.

Having said that, I will certainly bear your point of view in mind when I begin the book…and try not to draw comparisons. It seems a little like reading Dickens’ Great Expectations and then everything else written by him… When I read that I thought I couldn’t possibly equal it or find a better Dickens read….then I read Dombey and Son….and was mightily proved wrong… So perhaps Animal Farm will indeed exceed My Expectations.

What’s it going to take you, a week or two?
Read it, it has some interesting insights.

I first read 1984 when I was about 15, and I have reread it multiple times since. I read Animal Farm last year, but have no intention of reading it again. It is a good book, and a quick read, but IMO not nearly as potent as 1984. You should read it though. It’s one of those books you just have to read.

I saw the movie when I was a teenager, and still remember it vividly. It was a cartoon, but ended up being a horror story—not what cartoons were in those days. I don’t think I read the book, but did read 1984 and thought that was fantastic. I wouldn’t fear reading the book of Animal Farm. Better to know than not.

I was disappointed that there wasn’t a spider that helped a pig not get eaten.
I guess that’s my fault though.

Unfortunately I’ve not read either one. But from what the others have said here, I think I might have too.

If possible, find a quiet spot and read it all in one sitting. Don’t get too hung up on analyzing it while reading it the first time, just enjoy it as a fable. It is after you have read it that you will discover that the truly clever storytelling has changed your perceptions (as any good story will).

It’s pretty good, just as good as ‘84, but different. Different message. And if you regret reading it, ah well, it’s not that long and you’ll get brownie points for being well-read anyway.

Our big read in 8th grade (1969) was Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, Farenheit 451. I reread Farenheit 451 not too long ago, and still love it.

I studied it in school two years ago and enjoyed it immensely. Then again I was helped to get into it with drawing pretty pictures and the like… it’s a great read and you might as well. At least just to say that you’ve read it, and you’re not basing all your opinions on Orwell from the one book.

Read it. Don’t think too hard about it, just enjoy it : )

Don’t be a sissy. Curl on up and have a good time.

There’s a gorgeous illustrated edition of Animal Farm

I read it for the first time in my early 20’s and I loved it. I haven’t read 1984 yet, though it is on my bookshelf patiently waiting. I definitely think you should read Animal Farm – read it first without expectation, which I admit may be difficult but possible. I think once you begin reading you will get sucked in.

Just for anyone who is interested…. i did indeed read Animal Farm last week and thought it was very good…

Tried to read it just as an interesting fable but simply couldn’t help making major comparisons about how the world and countries are run today…and how unbelievably duped we all are at times( if not all the time!!) ..and how so very easy it is for us to be lied to and manipulated in order for people to retain power…

and money…. don’t get me started on the money thing…

and the denouement was so very hard hitting and shocking that i was dumb-founded at the end of the book. Would love to study this book and take it apart a bit more…i think its an incredible commentary on power, war, greed and has left me feeling really very sad.

Thanks all for your encouragement to read the book…i have now achieved something i set out to do this year at least!!

Now…onto Ulysees…..any thoughts??? :-)

I’m so glad you read it! Good luck with Ulysees…I could not do it, though I tried.

If you get stuck on Ulysses, go to You Tube and watch The Century of Self

It will be a great follow up to Animal Farm and the insights you just listed above.

cheers fireside… although i don’t think I’ll be tackling Ulysees before Christmas!! x

C’mon, it’s only 1200 pages. You should be done by the weekend. : )

lol! Have you read it then??? is it worth it? does it make any sense?

lol, no I haven’t read it.
I did read Odysseus and would probably keep that tale in mind as a backdrop.

It’s probably similar to watching “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou” since they were both based on the original story from Homer.

I kind of loved “O Brother, Where Art Thou” a lot. A lot, a lot.

Oh, me too! I even bought the soundtrack.

i absolutely loved animal farm. i read it before 1984, but i loved 1984 about as much.