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Summary: If you liked 1984 and Brave New World,
Review: Then you MUST get this book. We is the first and best book out of the "Dystopian Trilogy" of books, and, not surprisingly, the most penetratingly honest and hopeful of the three works. As is common with Russian authors, Zamyatin coupled a vision of a bleak future with a piercing ray of hope in the end. D-503's internal struggles and those with his other "numbers" as he is facing these new feelings brought about by I-330's attentions also add a great deal of soul which is missing from the later works by Orwell and Huxley. This is definitely a book that is well worth anyone's time, and I particularly recommend it to anyone interested in dystopian literature and the writings of the Soviet dissidents, or anyone who has an interst in great literature.
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Summary: WE
Review: WE is a great novel that simply expalines the chain of change and the non-existance of the perfect system. Ans so the need of revolution I think reading this book is a must for s/f lovers
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Summary: We: Must Reading for Everyone with a Soul
Review: WE is highly recommended for anyone with a soul; anyone, that is, who feels singular in a society without intellectual and emotional diversity. WE addresses the political climate of early 20th Century Russia, but asks more disturbing questions (and possibly makes predictions) upon the logical outcome of our own societal direction.
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Summary: A must-read
Review: Sometimes I wonder if the clarity of this novel is affected by its translation or if it is simply characteristic of D-503's writing style. Regardless, even if one can't read the original Russian manuscript it is still well worthwhile to explore Zamyatin's thought-provoking portrayal of eternal themes in a futuristic setting.
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Summary: Sanity demolishing, questions the order of logic!
Review: "We" is a brilliant book. Zamyatin manages to encasulate, not so much in the future but a parallel world, questions which we are afraid of making, or considering. His clever style manges to undermine our concept of order being proportional to logic. Even logic may be chaotic, things can never be logical, there is always the root of negative one... A very succesful piece worthy of being read by anyone who has read 1984. Follows a similar context of the Big Brother.
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Summary: One of the most important books - ever.
Review: This book is a classic and must read for any fan of "1984" and "Brave New World". The quintessential "negative utopia" book, and the prototype as well. I first read it 15 years ago, and have been finding and giving away used copies ever since. Glad to see it out there again. It goes in and out of print far too often...
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Summary: Haunting, depressing, yet irresistable: layer-cake satire!
Review: Odd that so many consider this book to be SF, but more odd still that not one reviewer sees the many parallels between "We" and Ayn Rand's "Anthem" (her best work, IMHO.)Rand lived and was educated in St. Petersburg, also the home of Zamyatin and a group of "supressed" Bolshvic writers. Although younger than Zamyatin, "We" was circulated "underground" within a circle of Russian writers, and it is hard to believe she did not read it (and meet him) before emigrating to the USA. Interesting, too, is that her novella "Anthem" was first published in Britain, in 1937, just after Zamyatin died in Paris. Also, "Anthem" is written in the form of a personal journal. Rand loved to brag that she had beaten both Orwell and Huxley into print with "Anthem." Of course it's much easier to improve someone else's work, than to create your own, which is exactly what I believe Rand did. Why not read both and decide for yourself? You'll find "Anthem" far more poetic (in English); but she is serious, whereas Zamyatin is brilliantly satirical.
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Summary: it was mindblowing
Review: I don't like typing much, so I'm not going to write a review( I dislike computers)
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Summary: A Classic Dystopia
Review: This classic dystopia is essential reading in the genre. Asidefrom Brave New World and 1984, other dystopias include Erewhon bySamuel Butler, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess, and, for the younger (and older) folk, The Giver by Lois Lowry. I would also recommend Kafka's The Trial, Lord of the Flies, and, of course, the anti-utopian rant of Notes from Underground (and the short story "Dream of a Ridiculous Man") by Dostoevsky, but these are not strictly dystopias but have some concerns in common with dystopias (namely, individual freedom vs social conformity). For those who love utopias, some common ones are Utopia, News from Nowhere, Looking Backward, and Lost Horizon. Also check out H.G. Wells' A Modern Utopia. It's been awhile since I've read We, but I do remember that it made a lasting and positive impression... - Brad Clark
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Summary: "Only the unsubduable can be loved"
Review: This novel (the edition I read was a translation from the Russian by Mirra Ginsberg in 1972) is an excellent satire by Yevgeny Zamiatin (or, Zamyatin). Reading it, I find it remarkable that Zamiatin was not sent to Siberia or executed in one of the many purges occurring in the Soviet Union at that time. Apparently, the book was never published in the Soviet Union. It appeared first in English in 1924 (and obviously had a major influence in the development of Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four") and then in Czech in 1927. The Soviet authorities began to put pressure on the author through the Writers' Union and, probably due to the help of Maxim Gorky, Zamiatin was allowed to leave for Paris in 1931 (he died in Paris in 1937). The story is an extrapolation of a totalitarian world. The population of Earth that have survived a 200-years war find themselves members of a single state (the One State) where imagination is considered a disease. In this society the individual does not count, only the multitude. The central character is D-503 (all the inhabitants are numbers in this State), a mathematician who is building a space ship to bring their "perfect" world and culture to others. The whole novel consists of D-503's journal. However, D-503 soon meets I-330, a woman who shows him that there are numbers in the One State that feel that the State is in error and are striving for a new revolution. He begins to have strong feelings for her. He thinks he is ill but he can't help himself. And, he must keep his feelings hidden from the Guardians, the One State's "protectors." What a terrific "read." I highly recommend it (as well as "1984" and "Brave New World"). As can be seen in the comments by the other reviewers, "We" is a great book to discuss: with respect to politics, history, science fiction, or literature.
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