First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday I finished Animal Farm by George Orwell. I think I may have read this one before, but because I couldn't remember for sure, I re-read it.

I love stories where animals take on human qualities. In fact, since the library is closed, I started A Lion Among Men (thanks to Danny & Liz) to continue on the talking animal journey. It's the third book in the Wicked series. But I digress...

I understood and sympathized with the maxim of the animals - 4 legs good, 2 legs bad - in their effort to overthrow the farmer and take control of the farm and their own destiny. They didn't want to be rationed too little food, they wanted relaxation, they wanted to avoid slaughter. And it started out that way, with their list of 7 commandments. But as the book went on, the pigs rose to the top and started to modify the commandments, and they became more and more like the humans they ran off the farm.

At the end of the book, there was less food for each animal than before, the pigs had literally taken on human tendencies like drinking alcohol, wearing clothes, pursuing trade, and walking on hind legs. The 7 commandments had been replaced with one: All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.

The book really drew me in, and I loved how the author used this book as a place to further describe his hatred of totalitarianism. The definition of totalitarianism is below, and I've noted in italics some of the examples of the behaviors in the book.

Form of government that subordinates all aspects of its citizens' lives to the authority of the state, with a single charismatic leader as the ultimate authority. (The pig Napoleon.) The term was coined in the early 1920s by Benito Mussolini, but totalitarianism has existed throughout history throughout the world (e.g., Qin dynasty China). It is distinguished from dictatorship and authoritarianism by its supplanting of all political institutions and all old legal and social traditions with new ones to meet the state's needs, which are usually highly focused. (Changing the commandments to support the interests/needs of the pigs, telling the other animals they were mis-remembering the tenants since most of them could not read, also changing history to make Napoleon the hero in all scenarios to make him look good to all the animals on the farm.) Large-scale, organized violence may be legitimized. (The slaughter of animals who were forced to come forward as conspiring with the enemy - I am sure most of them were put up to this as a form of kamikaze suicide, and the rest had guilty consciences because the environment had grown so desperate. I do not think any animal betrayed the farm, except the pigs.) The police operate without the constraint of laws and regulations. (The pigs.) Where pursuit of the state's goal is the only ideological foundation for such a government, achievement of the goal can never be acknowledged. (They never reached the end of the goal because Napoleon always kept shifting the finish line out of reach.)
-Answers.com

The 2 aspects for the book I didn't fully understand were the raven/crow character who seemed to represent some sort of religious authority, but the pig government didn't respect him, and the battle over the firewood and the false money. I assume the firewood episode was supposed to be reflective of how man really is bad, but that the pigs were still becoming more like man every day.

I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone. Great quick read with a different take on society.

It has been a long 6 weeks, reading The Adventures of Augie March. I really did enjoy the book, but had a tough time following the story because it's written simply to be a novel, not to have a moral like many other stories. The book follows a guy, Augie from childhood through his mid-adult life, and describes all the great adventures he has. My favorite thing about the book was the way the author described sensations, emotions, and observations with such tactile words and colorful phrases.

This book is touted as the quintessential American novel because it's supposed to tell the story of typical Americans, pursuing the American dream. I thought it was so interesting that about half of the book was spent in Mexico... But I did think the author did a nice job portraying the wants of many Americans and the passion behind finding your path in life.

I had a hard time with all the references to adultery since that was quite commonplace in the book. But I do recognize that is a part of the American culture, so I'd imagine it was a fairly accurate representation.

Overall I did enjoy the book, and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in an epic adventure.

Next up: Animal Farm by George Orwell. I'm already 50 pages in, so hopefully I'll have another post in a week.

Thanks for reading!
Mary