by Kevin Campkin

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: January 07, 2012

One question I get asked a lot is 'What is the greatest book ever?' Being a student of English Literature it is usually the second question I get asked after 'Have you read The Da Vinci Code?' And I normally throw out a few scraps, mumble a few authors and find someone else more interesting and less analytical about tracking down The Greatest Book Ever and presumably never reading anything again.

But it did get me to ponder something. Whilst I could never narrow my books down to one specific title that I would take with me to a desert island (for the record, it would probably be Lord Of The Rings.. I know, I'm sorry!), I did get to think about that question. How does one narrow down the Greatest Book Ever Written? As in, the book that despite, or perhaps because of, the subject matter is flawless in its writing and execution. The one book that no amount of editing could possibly make any better.

And this is a tricky one. For example, I adore the works of Burroughs but as a piece of written English it is pretty poor and impenetrable to a lot of people. And, many will argue, what is the point of a work of literature that is occasionally unintelligible? Likewise, Burgess and 'A Clockwork Orange'. A magnificent book but another one that a lot of people would struggle with. And this is what I tried to figure out.. the Best Book Ever should surely appeal to everyone, regardless of taste or even reading ability - the one that could appeal to anyone and everyone, the one that has a story for whatever mentality chooses to explore it. The one book that anyone could pick up and (I think) be able to get something from.

For me, there is only one winner. Animal Farm isn't my personal Favourite Book Ever. It isn't even my favourite George Orwell; I have read his apocalyptic masterpiece Nineteen Eighty-Four far more and even the likes of The Road To Wigan Pier are more dog-eared and read than Animal Farm. But as a piece of writing, I find it flawless.

Essentially, for anyone who has been living under a rock rather than going to school and therefore hasn't come across it before, Animal Farm is ostensibly a tale of farm animals rebelling and deposing their human masters, only for the ringleaders to seize power themselves and establish an equally harsh tyranny on their former allies. The animals that rise to power do just that - they give no outward sign of being evil at the beginning of the book but given a sniff of authority they manipulate and destroy, at a stroke, the entire

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>