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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
Even though 1984 was inspired by this I didn't really find any significant connection between We and Orwell's work so I can safely say he ain't no plagiarist.
Matematics meets dystopian/utopian setting (there isn't a difference between the two anyways). We is unlike 1984, but similar to something like Brave New World or Fahrenheit 451 because of the overall theme of happiness. But this isn't your regular happiness, this is advanced happiness (now with math). Can true happiness and true freedom exist? Are revolutions really an infinite process? Can happiness be forced? These are just some of the questions We poses (and answers, kinda). A question you can answer for yourself if you've read 1984, though, is "Do women always drive/fuck up the plot in dystopian novels?" Pretty much.
Definitiv eine meiner Lieblings Dystopie Erzählung und man erkennt auf jeden Fall viele Parallelen zu später erscheinenden wie 1984, etc.. Persönlich ansprechend empfand ich es insbesondere daher, da die Werte auf der die Welt von D-503 aufgebaut sind mir auch schon durch den Kopf gegangen sind, wenn auch natürlich nicht in diesem Ausmaß.
Größtes Manko für mich war aber das doch sehr häufige und im meinen Augen teils Sinnfreie Mathe Name-Droping aber vielleicht ist das in dieser Welt auch nötig. Dafür hat mir es aber das Ende besonders angetan.
Größtes Manko für mich war aber das doch sehr häufige und im meinen Augen teils Sinnfreie Mathe Name-Droping aber vielleicht ist das in dieser Welt auch nötig. Dafür hat mir es aber das Ende besonders angetan.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THE SIGNS!!! THE SIGNS ARE HERE!!
Barely intelligible. Rambling, no explanation of complex society.
As a fan of science fiction, I feel I've finally "arrived". Compelling and creepy.
"We" is a dystopian, written in 1921 but not published until a few years later. I find dystopians written so long ago to be very fascinating. It's Zamyatin's writing style that is so frustrating. It's written in the style of a journal, the narrator writing to future aliens who may want to understand their society. However, he often cuts off his sentences in mid-stream, as if he can't bring himself to finish his thought. The reader is left to infer what is meant, but it isn't always clear where he's going, or what he's feeling. I suppose that is the point, because he's so confused about what's happening to him. Also, the society is totally math based and since mathematics were never a strong point for me, I find this aspect of the book to be a bit vague. Overall, it is still intriguing and I can see how this work potentially influenced many others, such as Anthem, A Brave New World and 1984.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Divergent for moderately racist adults
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Hmm... An interesting read, but dystopian novels always seem to have the same plot, and this was no exception. Whilst it's noted in the book that this inspired 1984 and Brave New World, it just felt vaguely like they'd ripped it off rather than been inspired by it.
I didn't like the translation either which didn't flow well in English. It felt stilted with nearly every paragraph ending with an ellipsis. I couldn't work out if that was the main character's style, but I would have expected it to become more flowing as he found his soul, but no.
Ultimately, books about the future always have the same problem of being in the time in which they were written. We have 1920s themes of newspapers, radio etc, whereas the modern dystopia we currently live in is far more that I think Zamyatin could have comprehended. Whilst the ideas of writing his thoughts on paper were acceptable to his system, writing something on facebook is not acceptable to ours.
Like the glass walls surrounding their mathematical city, the glass walls of our screens keep us loyal and obedient to the great benefactor of the state.
"The only way to eradicate crime is to eradicate freedom" p.47
"Today, poetry is no longer the insolent song of the nightingale: poetry is civil service, poetry is utility itself." p.81
"Nearly five centuries ago, when the Operating Room was just beginning its work, there were idiots who compared it to the ancient Inquisition, but this is just stupid: it's like saying a doctor performing a tracheotomy and a highway robber are the same thing just because both of them wield knives that cut people's throats. Clearly, one is a well-doer and the other, a criminal, one has a + and the other, a ..." p.95
I didn't like the translation either which didn't flow well in English. It felt stilted with nearly every paragraph ending with an ellipsis. I couldn't work out if that was the main character's style, but I would have expected it to become more flowing as he found his soul, but no.
Ultimately, books about the future always have the same problem of being in the time in which they were written. We have 1920s themes of newspapers, radio etc, whereas the modern dystopia we currently live in is far more that I think Zamyatin could have comprehended. Whilst the ideas of writing his thoughts on paper were acceptable to his system, writing something on facebook is not acceptable to ours.
Like the glass walls surrounding their mathematical city, the glass walls of our screens keep us loyal and obedient to the great benefactor of the state.
"The only way to eradicate crime is to eradicate freedom" p.47
"Today, poetry is no longer the insolent song of the nightingale: poetry is civil service, poetry is utility itself." p.81
"Nearly five centuries ago, when the Operating Room was just beginning its work, there were idiots who compared it to the ancient Inquisition, but this is just stupid: it's like saying a doctor performing a tracheotomy and a highway robber are the same thing just because both of them wield knives that cut people's throats. Clearly, one is a well-doer and the other, a criminal, one has a + and the other, a ..." p.95