In my continuing quest to read all the books I should’ve read in high school but somehow talked my way out of, I read Animal Farm last week. In 1936, after publishing The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell went to Spain to fight against the Fascists being led by Francisco Franco. In 1931, the Spanish King, Alfonso XIII agreed to allow elections to decide the government of Spain. Overwhelmingly, the people of Spain voted to abolish the monarchy and form a liberal republic. Over […]

This is one of those books that I’ve read about a dozen times. So much so that I’ve listened to this specific audiobook edition (by Ralph Cosham) three or four times. It was also one of the first “adult books” (such as it is for adults — Hint: It is, as far as I’m concerned) I read in whole, and read in one go. The book is also the subject of a lot of limiting criticism about what it’s an allegory for. He calls it […]