We

Rating:
Summary: A supremely frustrating, arduous, unrewarding read
Review: I had more of a struggle plodding through this book than I have had with any book in years. I love dystopian novels--I've taught Brave New World, 1984, and The Handmaid's Tale in high school courses--and science fiction in general. Having heard that We inspired both Huxley and Orwell, I knew I had to read it. But for some reason, reading it was an experience completely devoid of pleasure for me. Instead, I got increasingly frustrated at the ambiguous language and the narrator's hopping from one topic to another. I don't know if the translation is to blame, but the language of the novel seemed very disjointed to me. And I've read translations of Dostoevsky, so I don't think it's just a difference in writing styles between Russian and English speakers. I came very close to giving up on reading it, but I haven't done that with a book in years, so I forced myself to finish it yesterday. Yes, it is clear that Zamyatin's ideas are precursors for several aspects of 1984 and, to a lesser extent, Brave New World. But trust me: that don't make it fun to read! The only person I can see needing to read this chunky stew of a book is someone writing a scholarly essay on the history of the dystopian novel or something like that. And I can't even see how someone like that would actually enjoy reading We.

Rating:
Summary: Halfway through, but liking it!
Review: I am about half way through the book, and i am starting to really like D-503, the main character. D-503 writes journal entries to the "unknown beings" on different planets. He describes his daily life, but includes all his thoughts. D-503 lives in a mathematical world where [the square root of -1] is used to express confusion. Beauty is mathematical. Names? no numbers! everyone has a number. In this strange but interesting book, D-503 lives his life, trying hard to stay in the lines. He lives in the ONE STATE and everyone lives as one. When reading this book, you learn how communities exist and that Eutopias are impossible.
OK- We is by Yevgeny Zamyatin. (but translated by Mirra Ginsburg) I think its really interesting how translations work. Does Mr. Zamyatin agree with Ginsburg's translation? Is it what Zamyatin intended the novel to be?

Rating:
Summary: Conformity
Review: In the far-flung future of the 26th century, the narrator D-503 is the builder of the rocket INTEGRAL. He lives in the regimented, totalitarian OneState, a society based on mathematics. Everything is scheduled (eating, sleeping, working, sex). When he meets the woman I-330, his world begins to fracture as suddenly he develops emotions that are unknown to him. I-330 also leads him unwittingly into acts of revolution, but the OneState's Guardians seem to be one step ahead of them at all times. There's much to ponder and extrapolate in this story, and it does seem a bit unpolished (and I don't think it's due to Clarence Brown's translation). This is definitely fascinating literature, especially since it influenced Orwell's "1984", but sometimes the story is confusing. Overall Zamyatin's "We" is a classic dystopian tale that still is pertinent to today's world.

Rating:
Summary: Freaky!!
Review: This is the first sci-fi novel I've ever read & it was required reading for my Russian literature class. I must say I was pleasantly surprised! This book was written in the early 1920's (which means it was around before "Brave New World")and is a satire about the horrors of Stalinism. It is very creative in its concept...individuals no longer have names, but rather numbers. Everybody lives in glass buildings, eliminating privacy. Sexual relationships must be approved by the State beforehand and an unplanned pregnancy resulted in a death sentence for the mother. This book is written in diary-form with very short entries, making it a quick and easy read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book & think anyone interested in sci-fi or in Russian literature would enjoy it also.

Rating:
Summary: Unconditioned spirit in unspirited conditions
Review: the beauty of square root of -1 becomes the essence of zamiatin's philosophy. and how beautiful this mathematical metaphor... for a person coming from the absurdity of a regime that mirrored OneState, this book will translate a lot more that it would ever do for, say, someone brought up in the "western" world... and here is where we, from those "OneStates," understand differently that unique lament, passion or maddening search for [a higher] truth that remains rather foreign elsewhere.

a gem...

Rating:
Summary: Left a lasting impression
Review: I read this book 10 years ago and I still think about it. True intellect that scars your mind. The human condition cannot be controlled!

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, personal and Misunderstood
Review: This is more of a philosphy novel than anything else. There are intertwinnings with beautiful fantasy, pure logic and a personalisation that you will not find in 1984 or Brave N ew World. There are direct references to religion, science experiments that were the buzz of Zamyatin's time and still ring with us today.

The main problenm with this book is for people to take it too seriously. This is partly a mix of an author's life and his fiction. The 70s feel is amazing considering the time it was written in. I recommend people not to take to heart that this book may have influenced 1984 and BNW because then you will read too much into this and not enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Total Oppression
Review: Zamyatin wrote this book in the early 1920s, allegorically depicting what the newly-born Soviet state was becoming at the time. Stalin did not allow the publication of the novel, but allowed Zamyatin to leave the country. This dystopian book paints a grim picture of society governed by One State (Stalin's "socialism in one country"), which having consolidated intself, intends to carry its principles and ways of life into other places in the universe (the part of the world outside the Soviet Union) in a spaceship called "Integral" (all-encompassing doctrine of Marxism-Leninism).

This book is the precursor of well-known dystopian novels "1984" and "The Animal Farm." Zamyatin's book is not polished: the narrative is repetitious and excessively brooding. But the theme is powerful and poignant: human aspirations to create heaven on earth (and beyond) lead to de-spiritualization and total oppression. The rebelious and creative are destroyed. Human beings are turned into organic automata that serve the State for the benefit of perpetuating its existence and its power. This grim, potent, and pseudo-mathematical narrative is a warning and a sad prophecy of totalitarian miseries of the twentieth century.

Rating:
Summary: True Classic of Speculative Fiction
Review: I picked up We because I had read something quite positive about it yet in my years of reading had never heard of it. And, all-in-all, I have a very positive impression of We after reading it. But I was let down in a couple of ways.

First, I found the book difficult to read due to the pace of the book. I believe that this was largely due to the fact that I wasn't expecting something with quite as much of an introspective slant to it. Perhaps had I begun the book knowing that, I might have been more receptive to what it had to offer. We often takes a very sharp introspective turn during which the narrator examines his mortality, his desires and the world as he knows it.

Second, the action of the book seems to occur in fits and spurts. And perhaps the book is too short to describe the action that takes place and is so essential to both the plot of the book and understanding of the characters. The reader is also not presented with a great deal of background and I, for one, was very curious how this 26th century Earth came to be.

On the whole, We deserves a great deal of credit. It was the precursor to Brave New World and 1984 and clearly paved the way for new forms of speculative fiction. Considering the time and country in which it was written, its clearly a bold book. But unfortunately some of its flaws overshadow its importance, though only slightly.

Rating:
Summary: Original dystopia
Review: _We_ is an interesting sci-fi look at "perfect" societies. It shows how perfection can go awry as the central government takes too much control.

Sound a bit like _Farenheit 451_, _1984_, _Brave New World_, etc.? It should, because all these books likely took note of _We_. It was an originator of this genre.

_We_ is an interesting read, but overall, if you have read later dystopic novels, then it seems a bit frail at times.

I would take the time to read _We_ for a couple of reasons. One, it's always interesting to see what an author tried to accomplish during Soviet oppression; and two, it's interesting to see the evolution of this genre and where it all began.