Book Notes: 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


As I read the various characters' speeches, I was thinking of essay questions. "Read Major's speech and identify the theories of the great economic thinkers"; obviously Marx, but also Ricardo, Spencer et al. This Everyman's version contains a useful chronology outlining Orwell's life, and at each point, what was happening in literary circles and world events. Two of Orwell's (Blair's) prefaces were included as appendices. It would have been helpful to have access to (or, rather, noticed) such useful thoughts from the author in high school, but I suppose that such information would have been lost in my inexperience. The introduction by Julian Symons is concise but helpful, and now, of course, I must read Sir Bernard Crick's George Orwell: A Life.



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Book Notes: 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' by Joan Lindsay

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I recall seeing the movie many years ago, but apart from the mysterious scene where the young women disappear, there was no trace of a story in my memory to influence my reading. The final page left me tingling. The story is rather creepy in a fatalistic way. Yet it is very good and I am pleased to have embarked upon my journey through Australiana literature.



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Book Notes: 'Jerry of the Islands' by Jack London

Jerry of the Islands by Jack London

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book captures a part of the history of the Solomon Islands (and indeed, Australia), that has been conveniently forgotten. This book should be called Jerry the Racist Dog and it is difficult to see how the author's attitudes are not racist. Nevertheless, as I was recently informed by a reliable source, Lolita did not necessarily make Nabokov a paedophile, but it is still confronting. Written in the style of White Fang and Call of the Wild, the story is from Jerry's perspective, although more than a decade later. And unlike his stories about humans, the animal stories tend to have happy endings. I found an article in an Australian newspaper that shows part of London's inspiration for the book. While I must reserve judgement until I read some more of London's work, but in the meantime, I find it difficult to rate this book too highly.



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