Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm (1945) takes place on both literal and allegorical levels. On its literal level, it is a story about talking farm animals. The allegorical level combines the literal meaning with chilling echoes of and correspondences to the Russian Revolution. 

Animal Farm is the epitome of a dystopian world. Set on an English farm, the book's characters are all four-legged. The farm animals are introduced to the dream of a dying pig of a future in which human contact and man-made objects are abolished, all animals are equal, and their human masters are overthrown. After their rebellion, however, reality differs -- the pigs take over and rule over the other animals. Napoleon, the head pig, returns to old human ways and becomes an overweight dictator.  By the end of the book, all the other animals are starving and life is worse than when the animals were kept in check by humans. 

There is no main character or hero to be found in this novel, but that makes the story even more interesting. Each character's journey is a puzzle piece in the story. Could-be heroes are numerous, but all eventually fail in their quests to overthrow the pigs. 

Animal Farm poses a warning both to political leaders and to the average citizen. For political leaders, the message is to treat the people fairly and not starve or execute them (I'm looking at you, Stalin), because otherwise they will rebel and potentially overthrow the authority. For the average citizen, it's a lesson on not letting political rulers take advantage of them and their labor or their devotion to their country. 

I rate this book five out of five stars for its strong lessons and dire warnings against the abuse of power.