Purple People Readers

For all the controversy surrounding this novel, I was surprised by how short it actually is. However, for all its lack of length, it sure does pack an important message.

The allegory was a bit didactic for me — I felt like I was being beat over the head with the message, but I haven’t read an allegory yet that hasn’t made me feel that way, so that’s just a genre preference. The message is worthwhile and, scarily enough, seems all too real. As always, Orwell makes a scathing political commentary while still telling an entertaining story. Despite the rather factual narration, I still felt some emotional connection to the characters and was saddened and horrified in all the right parts.

I thought the narration was fantastic. Cosham played to the animal characters, adjusting his speech to sound like the different animals. He also told it in a storyteller voice, which usually I don’t like, but it fit so perfectly with the way Animal Farm is written that I found myself enjoying his rendition. (And after all, the full title is Animal Farm: A Fairy Tale.)

I recommend this book for everyone to read. It’s a classic, it’s banned, it gives an important message, and it’s pretty short, so there’s hardly an excuse not to read it. I didn’t think I was going to like it, but I found it to be interesting and enjoyable.