Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps Disch's "best" science fiction book.
Review: I'm fairly high on most of Disch's fiction, but I think this book is not accorded the respect it deserves. There are several reasons for this, I think.1. It is billed as a novel, but it is more a collage or mosaic novel, constructed out of a series of connected stories and novellas that Disch published around 1971-72. Publication was mostly in _New Worlds Quarterly_ and Samuel R. Delany's _Quark_, original anthologies geared towards New Wave fiction that did not receive incredibly widespread distribution. 2. The long section originally published as the novella "334" is written in a decidedly non-linear style--the narrative jumps back and forth in time. This can be a little unsettling if not read with care and attention. As a whole, the work is fairly "literary" (for the tastes of science fiction readers, anyway). 3. The story is at times fairly down beat, if not actually depressing. This isn't a "pink-and-white bunny rabbit" story. :-) So it's not a conventional novel. Still, looked at as a collection of stories, this book is great. The stories "Angouleme," "Bodies," "Emancipation," and "334" are each among Disch's finest work at this length. Highly recommended for those with a taste for this sort of thing.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, let's see...
Review: It's sometime in the 2020's in New York City. From governmental permission to procreate based on test scores to a society nursed on various drugs, 334 by Thomas Disch creates the "perfect" dystopia - or is it? Using the inhabitants of poverty-striken housing project, 334, Disch creates a future that is hardly imaginable to current US citizens. At the same time, however the author vividly plays on the fears of Americans living at the time of the novel's publication in 197yomama and indeed, Americans today. Some examples are as follows: the demasculinzation of men such as when one man not only takes care of his daughter, but is surgically altered so as to be able to breast feed the infant; government control of procreation; a drug-induced citizenry; not only sex ed in schools, but sex ed in the form of live sex to inform students, etc. While some of Disch's ideas may seem far-fetched it is not that difficult to fathom such notions as complete governmental control even in the private sectors of life. As far as the actual novel is concerned, Disch aptly describes his characters in such a way that they are quite believable. The story got to be a bit old, however, especially with the jumping back and forth between characters, even if they are related in some way. Even though each character was different, a sort of monotony developed as a result of practically each chapter being about a new character. Some characters were, of course, more exciting than others, but as a whole they were well thought out. It was interesting to note the variations in the attitudes each character took in regards to his or her life. While today we would almost certainly regard the world depicted by Disch as a dystopia, some of the characters themselves would beg to differ. In general, I would recommend this book to anyone who dares to ask "What will become of us in the future?"
Rating:
Summary: Well, let's see...
Review: It's sometime in the 2020's in New York City. From governmental permission to procreate based on test scores to a society nursed on various drugs, 334 by Thomas Disch creates the "perfect" dystopia - or is it? Using the inhabitants of poverty-striken housing project, 334, Disch creates a future that is hardly imaginable to current US citizens. At the same time, however the author vividly plays on the fears of Americans living at the time of the novel's publication in 197yomama and indeed, Americans today. Some examples are as follows: the demasculinzation of men such as when one man not only takes care of his daughter, but is surgically altered so as to be able to breast feed the infant; government control of procreation; a drug-induced citizenry; not only sex ed in schools, but sex ed in the form of live sex to inform students, etc. While some of Disch's ideas may seem far-fetched it is not that difficult to fathom such notions as complete governmental control even in the private sectors of life. As far as the actual novel is concerned, Disch aptly describes his characters in such a way that they are quite believable. The story got to be a bit old, however, especially with the jumping back and forth between characters, even if they are related in some way. Even though each character was different, a sort of monotony developed as a result of practically each chapter being about a new character. Some characters were, of course, more exciting than others, but as a whole they were well thought out. It was interesting to note the variations in the attitudes each character took in regards to his or her life. While today we would almost certainly regard the world depicted by Disch as a dystopia, some of the characters themselves would beg to differ. In general, I would recommend this book to anyone who dares to ask "What will become of us in the future?"
Rating: 
Summary: 334
Review: One keeps bouncing off nebulous plot lines. Inimical to the reader, it is like scaling the perpetual slippery slope. Thomas Disch's use of historical retrospectives obfuscates the message here. This work was better left as a collection of personal cameos of the destitute characters written in short story format. This work has no claim to higher level fiction. Finishing this should be rewarded with a money back guarantee.
Rating: 
Summary: 334
Review: The book 334 is a journey into the future, where babies are grown in bottles and promiscuity is no longer "promiscuous." But it is also liquid: the scenes and years jump back and forth, and it can be hard to keep track of. I thought this book was very developed; the character of the different mini-stories were all connected in different ways, and the plots shared similar themes. It was very entertaining to read, and it really made me think about what the world will be like if society continues on the path it is currently on. Thomas Disch wrote this book in the seventies, but it still seems like a plausible scenario for the future (unlike 1984 must have seemed in the sixties), though perhaps not quite as early as Disch envisioned. All in all, I think it is a very entertaining and enlightening book.
Rating:
Summary: 334
Review: The book 334 is a journey into the future, where babies are grown in bottles and promiscuity is no longer "promiscuous." But it is also liquid: the scenes and years jump back and forth, and it can be hard to keep track of. I thought this book was very developed; the character of the different mini-stories were all connected in different ways, and the plots shared similar themes. It was very entertaining to read, and it really made me think about what the world will be like if society continues on the path it is currently on. Thomas Disch wrote this book in the seventies, but it still seems like a plausible scenario for the future (unlike 1984 must have seemed in the sixties), though perhaps not quite as early as Disch envisioned. All in all, I think it is a very entertaining and enlightening book.
Rating:
Summary: An unsettling, and moving experience.
Review: This is a totally convincing book about life in the inner city of New York, 2020's. The story follows the lives of several characters, many who live in bldg. 334, a large multi-family government subsidized housing project. Technology has marched ever onward, and the need for unskilled labor has largely disappeared. Yet, with all of the advances, the poor, uneducated and misfortunates live largely unnoticed. They are assisted only by some innefective social programs. The people of 334 fight continual battles for hope, respect and a place among a society that has largely left them behind. The book doesn't attempt to blace blame, or offer solutions, but proceeds only with the full reality of the setting. The characters, and the readers, are left to sort it all out. This is a challenging, serious book for serious readers of any genre.
Rating:
Summary: 334
Review: Thomas Disch provides a very awkward yet appealing display of his image of the future in 2020's. He provides an image that our culture often does not suspect when looking into the future. He describes very vividly the daily lives of people who live in a housing project. Many do not suspect that the future holds an entire housing project for those who struggle to maintain their lives, but Disch allows the reader to experience the poverty, the liveliness, and sadness, advances in technologies has brought to those who live in 334. Disch does an excellent job of keeping the reader very intact with the atmosphere of 334, he provides vivid descriptions that take the reader to the actual housing project. I think that the theme behind 334 is to provide a simple glimpse of how technology can also take us into a future of poverty. Many believe that with technoloy our cultural status continues to increase along with the many riches our culture possesses, but Disch provides another outlook on the advances. He doesn't at all predict life in 2020 to be an easier way of life but a difficult life of poverty. His innovative manner in which he describes daily life does not make the atmosphere depressing but real. He makes every situation seem believable unlike many other science fiction writers. Disch provides an outlook that allows the reader to think of their future and how it relates to each character in the housing project. Overall Disch does an excellent job of taking his readers into a lives of those who live in 334.
Rating:
Summary: 334
Review: Thomas Disch provides a very awkward yet appealing display of his image of the future in 2020's. He provides an image that our culture often does not suspect when looking into the future. He describes very vividly the daily lives of people who live in a housing project. Many do not suspect that the future holds an entire housing project for those who struggle to maintain their lives, but Disch allows the reader to experience the poverty, the liveliness, and sadness, advances in technologies has brought to those who live in 334. Disch does an excellent job of keeping the reader very intact with the atmosphere of 334, he provides vivid descriptions that take the reader to the actual housing project. I think that the theme behind 334 is to provide a simple glimpse of how technology can also take us into a future of poverty. Many believe that with technoloy our cultural status continues to increase along with the many riches our culture possesses, but Disch provides another outlook on the advances. He doesn't at all predict life in 2020 to be an easier way of life but a difficult life of poverty. His innovative manner in which he describes daily life does not make the atmosphere depressing but real. He makes every situation seem believable unlike many other science fiction writers. Disch provides an outlook that allows the reader to think of their future and how it relates to each character in the housing project. Overall Disch does an excellent job of taking his readers into a lives of those who live in 334.
Rating:
Summary: 334
Review: Thomas Disch takes us through the lives of people living in building number 334 on 11th street in New York. But this is no ordinary story, and it isn't in ordinary times. It's set in 2020, giving the reader a glimpse of the future that may have been, if the government watches over our every move. In a time of test tube babies, real food displayed in plastic form in a museum, and tests determining whether or not a person can have children the reader gets to know many different characters who live in the same building, but lives are far apart. Learning about these people can be confusing, because Disch jumps back and forth between them very quickly, but other than that, this book offers a good fictional look into the future, that left me wondering if the predictions will ever come true. I recommend 334 to anyone interested in science fiction, and/or looking for a challenging book that kept me captivated the whole way through.
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