Animal Farm by George Orwell

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

What begins as a hopeful uprising of mistreated farm animals slowly reveals itself as a haunting retelling of the Russian Revolution, placing you amongst characters' fates that you anxiously dread and yet know will ultimately unfold regardless.

Orwell captures the early optimism of Marxist ideology through Old Major’s vision of equality, a world built on shared labour and shared reward. Yet, as Snowball and Napoleon begin to clash, the parallels with Trotsky and Stalin sharpen. The revolution does not collapse in a single dramatic blow; instead, it is quietly reshaped. Commandments are edited by a word or two, history is adapted, and language becomes a means of control. It is in these ways that Orwell reflects how the promise of 1917 gradually hardened into totalitarianism.

Boxer’s unwavering loyalty and instinct to work harder rather than question authority make for a quietly devastating reading experience as you make your way through the story, written as an embodiment of the working class that carried the revolution only to be sacrificed by it. Ultimately, Orwell reminds us that ideals, however well-intentioned, are fragile in the hands of those who crave control.