Comment by farts_mckensy
Comment by farts_mckensy a day ago
Orwell was not a good writer. 1984 in particular is a slog. His work was mostly popular because it conformed to anti soviet narratives, so schools naturally added them to the curriculum to stamp out any communist sympathies. Now that the soviets are no longer a threat, it's not surprising that his work has gradually fallen out of fashion. Yet every pseudo rebellious edgelord thinks the ideological order of 1984 is being enacted because of progressive college kids and trigger warnings.
"Nineteen eighty-four" is probably his most famous book, but many would say that "Animal farm" is a better book and that Orwell was best at writing essays, so make sure you've read a collection of his essays before you decide whether he was a good writer!
You're not wrong about Orwell being posthumously enlisted as an anti-Soviet propagandist, but "Animal farm" is beautifully written and makes perfect sense to a reader who knows nothing about (and has no interest in) the early history of the Soviet Union.