Book Review- Animal Farm

So to explain what exactly prompted me to pick up a classic, especially one as non traditional as Animal Farm I'm going to have to give you a back story and also explain why you may be seeing a multitude of book reviews on my blog. My friend and I were chatting one evening about the books we'd read and despite my being a voracious reader, I was blown away by the types of books she'd read, and the speed at which she read them. She mentioned then that to encourage her teenage daughter to read more classics and more literature (rather than the 50-types-of-trash that seem to be so popular these days) she started a book club with her for 5 weeks (the daughter was soon off to boarding school) where they picked a book to finish each week after which they'd had a discussion on their literary consumption. What a fantastic idea, I thought aloud, and asked if she'd want to have the same set up with me. I love to read but recently I'd just gotten downright lazy at it. Watching mindless TV shows just seemed to take up way too much of my time and even when I was reading, I seemed to veer towards the "Best Sellers" section at the bookstore rather than picking up anything substantial and worthwhile. Since she hated most fiction unless it fit in the classics genre, I knew I'd be exploring books outside my comfort zone, yet the types I'd always wanted to explore, and hence our 2 person "book club" was born.

So.. Animal Farm. Definitely outside my literary comfort zone! Most of you would have heard of the book, and a lot of you read it at school or college. I'd heard a lot about it and knew that it was a simple story, steeped in imagery and was about, as the name suggests, an Animal Farm! The book is only 90 something pages so is a very quick read, and can almost be a mindless children's book if you read it as is without trying to really read between the lines. It tells the story of a bunch of animals that drive out the owner of the farm they are housed in and decide to run things themselves and take matters into their own hands if you will. The short simple tale has many subtexts to it, which touches on communism vs socialism, on politicians vs the masses, and at it's very core, human social interactions and what happens when equality is assumed amongst a group of people who, given their abilities, socioeconomic status, education and upbringing, are clearly not equal.

But to really read the book and not go into it's history and the story it was meant to originally portray (despite your own interpretation of it and how it relates to the modern world) is to do it grave injustice. Honestly, I didn't really research the book and the history, despite knowing that the story was meant to portray the Russian Revolution. Luckily my friend is sort of Google Queen and had gone deep into the history of Russia and researched the book to correlate it to events and I was pretty impressed as to how Orwell had through a simple story, depicted the rumblings and undercurrents between the masses that took place during and after the revolution. They are many writings on the same, but if you've read the book already or intend to, you can check out this link that lays it out quite simply- http://www.slideshare.net/middletons1/russian-revolution-animal-farm 

All in all I'm glad I didn't read the book in isolation and had someone who did the research and explained a lot of things to me. All in all, I wouldn't say this was a great read like Palace of Illusions which I couldn't put down, but it was more of an educational read and I'm glad I took the time out to go through it.
If by any chance you'd like to virtually be part of our book club and share your thoughts with us, do let me know and I can post the names of the book as we're about to start on them, or give you a short list on what we're planning on reading next. Also if you guys have any recommendations, do let me know and I'll be sure to check them out!
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Book Review- The Palace of Illusions

A few years ago a Pakistani friend of mine suggested I read "The Palace of Illusions." I mention my friend's Nationality as said book is based on the Mahabharata and is written from Draupadi, the female protagonists point of view. I was extremely intrigued and had come home and downloaded it on my Kindle and then promptly ignored it, while I had probably gotten submerged by other books and useless TV shows. Then last week I was over at another friend's home who is Indian, an atheist, extremely intelligent and one of the most well read people I know. "You have to read this book," she prodded, sometime after she quoted quantum physicists and some mumbo jumbo about protons and ions and lots of research she had read before she decided to convert to atheism. So a Muslim and an atheist both prodded me to read a book based on the a story of a war which is the setting for the most religious of Hindu scriptures- the Bhagwad Gita. I was extremely intrigued and started on the book the next day itself.
If you're a frequent reader of this blog, you will know I worship Vikram Seth and that "A Suitable Boy" is my most favourite book of all time, a book I reread for the third time over the summer. All I can say is "The Palace of Illusions" either shares that top spot with ASB or could possibly have dethroned it altogether. If you're reading this and you're a Hindu, the story this book is based on is possibly quite known to you. Draupadi is married to five brothers, the Pandavs, and they go to war against their cousins, the Kauravas. If however, you haven't a clue about the story of the Mahabharata, that one line is quite possibly all you need to know before you read the book. How then, can one of the best books I've ever read be based on a story I already knew? Therein lies the brilliance of the book. Divakaruni, while writing this book, takes creative liberty in taking you through the detailed story and emotions of the protagonist, exploring a love story within the Mahabharata that isn't often spoken about or commonly known, and gives you a vivid picture of the occurrences as they happen. And her writing... aah her writing! The writing is pure poetry and is especially heightened almost reaching a dramatic crescendo at the end. My friend reread the book with me and in a quick swapping of notes yesterday, we realized we both cried at it's end, more because the words moved us so rather than because of the story line- one we both were quite familiar with. When "A Suitable Boy" ended, each of the three times I read it, I had been left with a feeling of emptiness as I felt a world that I had been built for me and suddenly vanished and I had been left alone without it; Most people would know that feeling which could come at the end of a great book or great movie. At the end of "A Palace of Illusions" however, I finished it on a complete high, feeling completely satiated and satisfied and almost privilidged to be allowed to witness glimpses into such personal moments of another's life. Strangely, both my friend and I had the same reaction to the end. Something about it makes you want to sit in thoughtful silence after turning the last page.
In my book reviews I really don't like giving spoilers or giving too many details away about the storyline as I feel one doesn't enjoy the book remotely as much if you know what's going to happen next. If that is what is holding you back, I suggest you put your misconception aside and still give it a shot. Had someone given me that advice, I'd possibly have read the book years ago when its first rave review had made me download it. Now, as you can guess, I can't recommend "A Palace of Illusions" enough! Very rarely does a book come into your life and make you feel like nothing will ever be the same again. I dare you to read it and not feel the same.
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