Animal Castle (Volume 1) - Xavier Dorison

Author: Xavier Dorison

Contributor: Félix Delep

Genre: Graphic Novel, Retelling.

Rating: 2 stars.

Many of us would have heard of this outstanding quote from George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This graphic novel spinoff of Animal Farm begins with a variant of the same: “On the Farm all animals were equal. In the Castle, some are more equal than others.”

Marketed as an animal fable, this story resembles Animal Farm but only to some extent. The humans have been written out of the picture, and the slow descent into dictatorship is relegated to a small note. The story begins with the animals’ government already bossing over the rest of the citizens. Ruled by a bull named President Silvio and his dog militia, the castle allows no leeway to the rest of the starving and overworked animals. All this changes with the arrival of a wandering rat. But change isn’t necessarily a good thing, and all change doesn’t lead to improvements.

Animal Farm is a classic for a reason, and I was looking forward to reading this graphic novel reinterpretation of the same. However, this turned out to be not to my liking at all, mainly because:

1. There is too much of gore and carnage, which is okay for me when I am prepared for it. In this book, it came out of nowhere. The victims being animals worsened the situation.

2. The deep-dive at the start led to zero background detailing of the characters. I’d have preferred a slower and more detailed introduction to the status quo so that I could connect better with the characters.

3. It takes a lot of inspiration from ‘Animal Farm’ but doesn’t do any justice to it. Borrowing motifs from a classic isn’t enough; the story has to make the theme work. This one didn’t.

4. The prime character in the ruled animals is a cat. It was tough for me to accept a cat living a life of servitude; it just didn’t ring true as cats are so independent and capable of handling themselves.

5. There is no closure to the main track. I dislike cliffhangers, especially in stories that leave me claustrophobic.

The illustrations are magnificent and depict the doom and gloom of the situation excellently. But mere illustrations cannot rescue a graphic novel. I wish the plot had been crafted better.

This wasn’t my cup of tea, but I know it will work well for a niche group. If you are in that segment of readers, please do try this. As for me, I’d rather read ‘Animal Farm’ again.

My thanks to Diamond Book Distributors, Ablaze, and NetGalley for the DRC of “Animal Castle Volume 1”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.