Animal Farm
Animal Farm by George Orwellby George Orwell
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 8 novellas
Recommended as a short, well written satire on power and propaganda that works as a story on its own. Critics find its parable form too heavy-handed.
17 people recommended Animal Farm by George Orwell in Hacker News comments, 4 had mixed feelings and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 24 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 23 of those comments still count.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 17
- mixed feelings
- 4
- warn against or regret it
- 4
The record
Recommended in 10 of 12 months
In 16 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it carries the badge
- 17 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 16 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 18% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 23 of the 30 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Satire of power and propaganda
“It's a broadbrush statement on the kind of people likely to seize power at every opportunity”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books” “I think a book that quickly illustrates this is Animal Farm.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Alignment is capability” “It is terrifyingly easy for propaganda to replace reality.”
Comment from 7 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What's the best book you read in the last year?” - Comment from 6 Feb 2026 in “Review of 1984 by Isaac Asimov (1980)”
Enjoyable and well written story
“It's also a story, and quite an enjoyable and well written one at that.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” “it's a perfectly comprehensible story in its own right”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” “I read Animal Farm when I was a kid and enjoyed it.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” Accessible for young readers
“Animal Farm served as a nice way of being introduced to the tale without getting bogged down by the specifics”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” “I have only had animal farm and 1984 hook me up to a book so much.”
Comment from 9 Mar 2026 in “Living Human Brain Cells Play Doom on a CL1” Essential, profound reading
“Of course 1984 and Animal Farm are the best”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Why I Write (1946)” “it had a profound impact me”
Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Short Little Difficult Books”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Dislike of parable form
“a lot of what I didn't like about Animal Farm could have been fixed in a different context”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” “which I didn't enjoy nearly as much because of a personal aversion to parables”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “YouTuber Says Cops Visited Him After He Built a Flock-Style Camera to Track Cops” Seen as one-sided history
“This book cannot prove anything, other than one person's opinion on history.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time” “the flaws are so bad I can't take anyone seriously who cites it”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Teen reading slumps to worst this century due to surge in screen time”
Other novellas people recommend
The four most recommended other novellas, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animal Farmby George OrwellThis page | 17 | 4 | 4 | 81% | 10 | — | Approved |
| The Little Princeby Antoine de Saint-Exupéry | 15 | 3 | 4 | 79% | 2 | — | — |
| Notes from Undergroundby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Flatlandby Edwin Abbott Abbott | 5 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| A Short Stay in Hellby Steven L. Peck | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
23 of the 30 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“which I didn't enjoy nearly as much because of a personal aversion to parables”
“a lot of what I didn't like about Animal Farm could have been fixed in a different context”
“the flaws are so bad I can't take anyone seriously who cites it”
“Animal Farm served as a nice way of being introduced to the tale without getting bogged down by the specifics”
“it's a perfectly comprehensible story in its own right”
“It's also a story, and quite an enjoyable and well written one at that.”
“I read Animal Farm when I was a kid and enjoyed it.”
“This book cannot prove anything, other than one person's opinion on history.”
“Demoting Orwell's masterpieces (1984 and Animal Farm”
“Of course 1984 and Animal Farm are the best”
“all the other themes behind Animal Farm and 1984”
“Read that book. If it is too long read a summary”
“People read 1984 and Animal Farm for the messages, not for the exquisite prose”
“I have only had animal farm and 1984 hook me up to a book so much.”
“IIRC, in the movie, the animals finally kick the pigs out and everything. It was a good ending.”
“it is in no way gentle in its satire”
“Basically zero books I read in German classes that I liked…”
“It is also better for the second type of children.”
“I think a book that quickly illustrates this is Animal Farm.”
“It is terrifyingly easy for propaganda to replace reality.”
“It's a broadbrush statement on the kind of people likely to seize power at every opportunity”
“it had a profound impact me”
“Having them read Animal Farm is a pointless waste of time.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.