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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
So ahead of its time. I did not bring the right headspace to it initially, hence the slow, oh so slow, read, but it is actually quite a page turner. Highly sophisticated in style, it is, as is well known, a powerful allegory. A canonical text.
adventurous
dark
adventurous
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Como toda buena distopía, este es un libro para reflexionar, sobre la felicidad y el precio que estamos dispuestos a pagar por ella, sobre el individuo y la sociedad (el yo y el nosotros), sobre los gobiernos totalitarios.
Al estar escrita en primera persona y en forma de diario se hace un poco confusa, sumado a esto que quien relata es una persona obsesiva y complica distinguir la realidad objetiva de lo que pasa por su mente.
Al estar escrita en primera persona y en forma de diario se hace un poco confusa, sumado a esto que quien relata es una persona obsesiva y complica distinguir la realidad objetiva de lo que pasa por su mente.
One of the earliest dystopian novels written We sets the template for all to come. A functionary of an apparently rational flawless state where reason reigns is knocked into a tizz by a wayward woman who makes him question everything and sends him practically loopy.
Excellent. I loved the repeated motifs by which characters were identified (and characterised). I loved the alien setting. I loved the pairing of mathematics and poetry, and of mathematics and philosophy. I also loved the occasional obfuscation. I didn't love the slightly awkward device of explicitly identifying the present-day audience, from the depths of the future.
Another thing I did love was the frugal scattering of apt but obscure words throughout; words like horripilation, calcined, faience, deliquesced, aureate. They were delicious. But I'm not sure whether the choice of those words reflects the author's native style, or the predilections of the translator. (My edition was translated by Bernard Guilbert Guerney). Good job, either way.
Another thing I did love was the frugal scattering of apt but obscure words throughout; words like horripilation, calcined, faience, deliquesced, aureate. They were delicious. But I'm not sure whether the choice of those words reflects the author's native style, or the predilections of the translator. (My edition was translated by Bernard Guilbert Guerney). Good job, either way.
This is the book that is really the foundational text of the modern dystopic novel. 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451 feel like direct responses to or spiritual successors to this book.
That said, for the modern reader used to these tropes, it's a little easy to roll your eyes at some of it. Some it feels a little clumsy, a little too "wink-wink" when the 4th wall gets broken, etc. I think Zamyatin deserves a ton of credit for this early first attempt being as solid as it is. Especially with so many of his ideas being copied or echoed in later books, that speaks volumes about the impact of this one.
Brave New World remains my favorite of the classic dystopic canon, but it was definitely worth seeing where a lot these ideas came from.
That said, for the modern reader used to these tropes, it's a little easy to roll your eyes at some of it. Some it feels a little clumsy, a little too "wink-wink" when the 4th wall gets broken, etc. I think Zamyatin deserves a ton of credit for this early first attempt being as solid as it is. Especially with so many of his ideas being copied or echoed in later books, that speaks volumes about the impact of this one.
Brave New World remains my favorite of the classic dystopic canon, but it was definitely worth seeing where a lot these ideas came from.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes