"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." This phrase, which has become a catchphrase, roughly sums up the essence of George Orwell's short novel published in 1945. Along with 1984, Animal Farm is undoubtedly the English writer's best-known and most influential work, which also presents the working mechanism of total dictatorships - it is no coincidence that in Hungary both novels were only read in samizdat editions for decades. The main difference between the two works is that while 1984 is a chronicle of an imagined - quite frightening - future, Animal Farm is an allegory of the past, specifically the Soviet revolution and the establishment of the Stalinist dictatorship. The most important Soviet politicians (Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky) and the organizations or social strata symbolized by different animals can be easily recognized in the heroes of the parodic story.
George Orwell's classic work is now offered to our readers in a new translation and brilliant illustrations by Ralph Steadman.