Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Animal Farm by George Orwell

115 reviews

stargazerave's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

To say this is one of the most depressing works of fiction I've read in the past year would not be an understatement.

Orwell, in enrapturing detail, documents through an allegorical lens the repeated cycle of capitalism, dictatorship, and just how easily people (or in this book, animals) are manipulated by language. Reading this book made me viscerally angry at points and heartbreakingly sad at others. To see the cycle laid out so plainly forces the reader to acknowledge the presence and repetition that continuously plagues political landscapes. In a mere 96 pages (of the edition I read), Orwell highlights with haunting clarity how easily political dogma can be transformed into propaganda, especially over the course of time. 

This novella left me horrified at moments with how many of the pigs' atrocious actions I found myself relating to our current sociopolitical climate. While written as an allegory for the Soviet Union, Orwell's work now highlights the atrocities committed by current governments and world leaders in a very blunt way. Yet, even as the book reaches its final pages, we see that this "accord" between the men and the pigs is strictly surface level with Orwell alluding to the start of the Cold War as both leaders play an ace of spades simultaneously.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Gun violence

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cannibalism

cloud_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Slavery, Gaslighting, and Death

livelaughomo's review against another edition

informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Slavery

Moderate: Gaslighting and Alcoholism

emey_reading07's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

Moderate: Slavery and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol and Death

d00rframe's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Alcoholism, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery, Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Torture, and Suicide

phantomsparrow's review

challenging informative tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence

Minor: Slavery and Blood

braeloves_reading's review

challenging dark informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, War, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Murder, and Torture

nineinchnails's review

dark reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

this was a really quick read and very fast paced but surprisingly dense. i was kinda disappointed because i thought it’d be more profound than it actually was but i read it in an hour so it’s very possible it just went over my head - i think i’ll probably enjoy this more on a reread with a little more context since i went into this pretty much blind. it’s really digestible so i’d definitely recommend this for anyone interested in reading classics but a little intimidated!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Classism

Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Death, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

authorannafaundez's review against another edition

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An incredible view into what happens when gaslighting meets censureship, ignorance, intolerance.

Of course, Orwell's Animal Farm is a commentary on Russian politics and practices during the 1940s, but they still apply to today's world. More-so, I'd say, in the age of the internet which gives access to nothing for those who cannot think critically and everything for those who can.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence, Slavery, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Animal death

mangopassion555's review

reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Slavery and Gaslighting

Minor: Alcohol