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maevedora's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
saraaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
It's a great book. One of the first of its kind. This novel was written between 1919 and 1921. Huxley claimed to have not read it before the publication of Brave New World; George Orwell, on the other hand, read it and thoroughly enjoyed it, so it's safe to say it might have been of inspiration for 1984.
Although this reads more similar to Animal Farm, with its bitter irony, facing the readers with the cold hard truth of the situation and letting them come to a conclusion fn their own. A fine piece of literature, in this sense.
It's full of mathematical and even biblical references, but nothing too hard for the common reader, and offers some brilliant, very modern philosophical and sociological considerations – truly a book that makes you think.
There were some racist descriptions and misogynistic observations that made me physically wince – were the prejudices really so engraved in Zamjatin's head that he couldn't imagine they would have not persisted in a culture 900 years into the future?
Apart from this, it was almost funny to note how technologically "backwards" (though I hate this term) such a culture was if compared to ours, just a century after the novel was written. Really puts into perspective how much has been discovered and invented in so little time, and how unexpected this development must've been.
But back to the book. I'd say by the end of story, it gets almost unbearably slow – otherwise it's a very quick read –, but I guess I have to take into account that this was a reread for me. Still, I highly recommend it – has to be read at least once in a lifetime.
Although this reads more similar to Animal Farm, with its bitter irony, facing the readers with the cold hard truth of the situation and letting them come to a conclusion fn their own. A fine piece of literature, in this sense.
It's full of mathematical and even biblical references, but nothing too hard for the common reader, and offers some brilliant, very modern philosophical and sociological considerations – truly a book that makes you think.
There were some racist descriptions and misogynistic observations that made me physically wince – were the prejudices really so engraved in Zamjatin's head that he couldn't imagine they would have not persisted in a culture 900 years into the future?
Apart from this, it was almost funny to note how technologically "backwards" (though I hate this term) such a culture was if compared to ours, just a century after the novel was written. Really puts into perspective how much has been discovered and invented in so little time, and how unexpected this development must've been.
But back to the book. I'd say by the end of story, it gets almost unbearably slow – otherwise it's a very quick read –, but I guess I have to take into account that this was a reread for me. Still, I highly recommend it – has to be read at least once in a lifetime.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Sexual content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Sexual violence, and Misogyny
rosalindgl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Racial slurs
saraaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Racism
Minor: Body horror, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Police brutality, and Alcohol
luckypluto's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book has sat on my shelf for over a decade and I am glad I finally read it. Historically it is a very important piece of literature as it directly influenced George Orwell’s Nineteen-Eighty Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, but it is still an interesting novel in its own right. It absolutely has to be read in the context of the Bolshevik revolution in Russian, a revolution a half-decade old at the time of its writing, but it is interesting to read a century later as well. Does it condemn or exult atheism and scientific rationalism? I would clearly argue for the former were I making the argument in 1920s Soviet Russian, but the question is even more interesting now.
The book is, however, very hard to follow, but that may be an issue with this particular translation; I’d like to sometime read a different translation and see whether it is just as difficult to read.
The book is, however, very hard to follow, but that may be an issue with this particular translation; I’d like to sometime read a different translation and see whether it is just as difficult to read.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism
ru_th's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I feel myself. But it’s only the eye with a lash in it, the swollen finger, the infected tooth that feels itself, is conscious of its own individual being. The healthy eye or finger or tooth doesn’t seem to exist. So it’s clear, isn’t it? Self-consciousness is just a disease.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
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