We (Russian Texts) (Modern Library Classics (eBook)) (Transaction Large Print S.)

by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Natasha Randall (Translator) and Bruce Sterling (Foreword)

“[Zamyatin’s] intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism— human sacrifice, cruelty as an end in itself—makes [We] superior to Huxley’s [Brave New World].”—George Orwell

Translated by Natasha Randall • Foreword by Bruce Sterling
 
Written in 1921, We is set in the One State, where all live for the collective good and individual freedom does not exist. The novel takes the form of the diary of mathematician D-503, who, to his shock, experiences the most disruptive emotion imaginable: love. At once satirical and sobering—and now available in a powerful new translation—We is both a rediscovered classic and a work of tremendous relevance to our own times.

• ISBN10: 081297462X
• ISBN13: 9780812974621
• Publish Date: 11 July 2006 (first published 1 January 1924)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Modern Library Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 240
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780812974621

Reviews

[clementine]

Definitely better than 1984, though Zamyatin's influence on Orwell is pretty clear. I-330 is a way more interesting female character than Julia. I thought it was interesting how complacent everyone seemed to be to live in a totalitarian society - the narrator explains at so many points how the loss of freedom is actually a great thing, and he seems to truly believe it. However, there were some things I questioned. Firstly, the totalitarian state seems... kind of feeble? There's no sense of being watched constantly despite the fact that everything is made of glass. The narrator manages to get away with a lot of shady business for a very long time, and there's never any true sense of urgency about being discovered. Some of the fanciful, excited narration seems to belie our protagonist's belief in the supremacy of a purely mathematical society. There were also some really weird quirks, such as the fixation with people's lips. It's hard to evaluate this novel nearly a hundred years after its publication, because it obviously would have been entirely unprecedented in 1924. However, sitting in 2019 having read a lot of the classics of dystopian literature, I found it really promising but not entirely satisfying.

[rohshey]

I know that this book is often-cited as Orwell's inspiration for '1984' leading to 'Brave New World' by Huxley ... and I see the parallels, but this book lacked the boldness and maybe some of the clarity found in other dystopian classics.

Probably worth the read from a purely literary perspective, especially if you love classic dystopian and sci-fi literature.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote his seminal dystopian novel We (1921) based on his personal experiences during the two Russian revolutions (1905 and 1917) and the first World War. The book ended influencing dystopian authors like Aldous Huxley and George Orwell. This book not only influenced the dystopian genre but could also be the influence towards the post-apocalyptic genre as this was set in a world where all was wiped out but “0.2% of the earth's population”. The book is set in ‘One State’ which has been organised to be a workers' paradise; everything has to work like clockwork and everything is based on logic and mathematics. This society is heavily surveillanced, has martial law and is heavily censored; a totalitarian world.

The protagonist, D-503, is an engineer who begins writing a journal (much like in 1984) to document Integral, the spaceship being built to invade other planets. D-503 is under constant surveillance by the Bureau of Guardians (the secret police) as is everyone else. He is assigned a lover O-90, but ends up having an uncontrollable attraction to I-330. This leads to nightmares and furthermore into what could be considered a mental illness. I-330 reveals to D-503 a world that was previously unknown to him. Will he hang onto hope or will reason get the better of him?

We was an impressive novel; not only with the themes that it explores but also with the technology and the simple fact that it was years and years ahead of its time. While some say We was released in 1920 and others 1921, there is no denying that, because of the subject matter, this was an impressive piece of literature. If it wasn’t for this book we may never of been able to enjoy Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) or even Kurt Vonnegut’s Player Piano (1952). By today’s standards this book would be overlooked but something innovative and so complex to be written so long ago makes this worth a read.