Tag Archives: Politics

Book Review

Review: Animal Farm (Re-Read)

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Animal Farm book cover.

Animal Farm
By George Orwell
Berkley, 9780452277502, June 1996, 128 pp.

The Short of It:

History repeats itself.

The Rest of It:

This is probably my third time reading Animal Farm. Why? I don’t know. I seem to be the kind of reader who chooses to read topical books as they relate to real world situations. I read about the plague during the COVID shutdowns. Why not read about tyranny while living through what we are living through now?

In the event that there is anyone reading this who hasn’t read Animal Farm, I will provide a brief synopsis.

A farm full of animals grow tired of the poor care and treatment they receive from their human farmer. They rise up in rebellion and run him off his land.

Leaders emerge. Mainly, Napoleon, a pig who rises up and resembles Stalin. Promises are made. The animals at first idolize him until he begins to draw a select few into his circle. Those select few begin to wield more power. Slowly.

Over time, the wonderful feelings they all shared at being equals and working toward a common goal dissipate and they are left questioning what the truth really is.

Lies. Promises. Propaganda. The changing of rules. Leaders telling you that you heard it wrong or didn’t understand it the first time.

Sound familiar? Orwell was ahead of his time. History repeats itself. Animal Farm is classified as satire. True. In my opinion it’s also a cautionary tale and in this current political climate, it hits right on the nose.

What happens to these animals, the well-meaning “do-ers” breaks my heart. Them being animals, does it soften the blow? Nope. Not one bit. We all want better lives. We want to be able to put food on the table. Raise families to know there is good out there. Call me what you want, but I am a Christian and THIS Christian chooses to love and not hate.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Book Review

Review: Burn

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Burn

Burn
By Peter Heller
Knopf, 9780593801628, August 2024, 304 pp.

The Short of It:

A stark warning to a divided country.

The Rest of It:

I’ve read a few books by Heller and all of them have left me a little speechless. All powerful, all a bit unsettling but this one, wow, I gotta take a moment.

In Burn, Storey and Jess start their annual hunting trip as they always do, except as they hike through Maine, they come across some alarming things. Maine is in the throes of secession and as they come across each town, they see the horrible devastation of what’s left behind. Evidence of a burn, evidence of attack. None of it good. As they make their way across the country, they begin to wonder what has happened back at home. Are their families safe? Surely, help would have been sent.

They quickly realize that their goal is simply survival, and getting back home but the enemy is not clear cut. They can’t tell secessionists from the military and everyone is fighting for supplies. As the journey continues, food is scarce, and mechanisms for getting home are scarce too. Boats? Not in the greatest shape and too obvious on the water. By foot? Long. Too long. They witness horrible things. No one can be trusted. They are on their own.

Enter a lost little girl.

Still unsure if there is even anything to go back to, home seems like such an elusive thing but then here is this girl, only six years old, desperately wanting to be with her parents. Are they even alive? How has she survived so far? Worried about their own survival but unable to leave a child to fend for herself in this bombed-out world, they take her on and their mission changes.

This story is bleak. There is little hope and honestly, it felt a little exhausting to be on this journey with Storey and Jess. All of the “what ifs” kept going through my mind . What would happen today if something like this happened? Could it? I feel as if it absolutely can which made it even more difficult to read.

Heller’s writing here is a warning. A warning that a divided country cannot win. How do you feel about that? I read this alongside my 1984 (read-along) and man, it put me in a dark place.  And I kid you not, as I was typing this out, I received a phone call from the UNITED STATES. Probably spam but chilling. Like, hello, your country is calling you!

Ahem, If you love Heller, you will also appreciate this book but it’s bleak. You should know that going in. Lots to consider here. Would make a good discussion book.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.