Animal Farm by George Orwell

For me the concept of animals ruling was an Utopian concept. 

I, by the virtue of being an animal-lover, thought it would be a perfect sort of world where humans would be replaced by animals. 

The story starts with a back-drop of a farm-house where the "Man", Mr. Jones, is not taking care of his farm animals. His flock is under-nourished, over-worked and abused. This discontentment plants seeds of rebellion in the hearts and minds of animals. 

The bacchanalian farm-owner, under the influence of alcohol, fails to feed his subjects for successive days which pushes the disgruntled animals to revolt. 

They rebel against the anarchic rule motivated by the ideas of the wise pig Major. He infused the animals with thoughts of paradise and painted a picture where there were no men, just animals. 

On the fateful night when they asserted their will of freedom they over-threw the farm manager Mr. Jones and as the sun rose there emerged a new rule of Animals. 

And this is where the story gets interesting.

Here we come across the hypocrisy of rules: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others".

Not to spoil the climax of this short fairy-story I won't indulge in the aftermath of the rebellion. 

But this novella is a piquant take on not just socialism but also how corrupt get away with balant acts of corruption.  The whole tale shapes into a parody on every form of government, religious teachings and authorities that we have experienced or have read about. In a very simple and succinct manner the author conveys a deep and profound message which tends to jolt the reader into shock at the unexpected turn of events. How the messages are interpreted by the layers of authority and molded in the favor of the rulers by tubs of white paint, how the naive are exploited into believing that everything is happening for their own good and how the staunch believers are ruthlessly exploited in the name of faith and then deported to butcher houses while the loyal supporters witness the massacre. Its a short read but leaves you reeling in the end and when the message finally sinks in you realize how apt this story is for every age and every era. Its a timeless novella, true for every age, its sad yet true, heart-wrenching yet nothing which you don't already know and you will deny experiencing this yet you know that you have unwittingly painted the wall white too.