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waiteh22's review against another edition
4.5
Giver meets Brave New World. Read to Haley by the campfire in two nights. Short but lovely read. Holds up since I read it in middle or high school.
with_freedom_and_books's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.5
It reminded me of 1984, short story version.
fajardosclassroomlibrary's review against another edition
4.5
4.5 stars | It was fast-paced and eventful. The dystopian aspect allows an open-ended interpretation. Other people might enjoy how short it is. —Dylan P., '23
djmcewen's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story of the discovery of individual liberty. This is not for those who want to become a collective, nor for the apathetic and lazy. This is a story for those who yearn for more, who accept differences in others and are willing to fight for a better life.
Equality 7-2521 (no individual name, just a designation) is unhappy. He (or "they" as they'd be called) fought others as a child, asked a lot of questions as a teenager and was tall and handsome, unlike others. For those reasons, for jealousy others would never admit to, they were made a street cleaner rather than a scholar.
Different than the others, Equality made a friend, discovered lost science and developed feelings for a girl. It changed everything and gave them the chance to escape "we" and become "I".
It's a really good read, at least if you believe we don't all need to think the same way, have the same feelings as one another and not be made into a villain for being different. Right now, effort is being made to classify and destroy the undesirable. This book runs counter to that.
I learned of this book from a 10th grade student who had it as an assigned reading. The kid hates reading but loved this book. His teacher lent me a copy and I'm so glad it entered my life.
Equality 7-2521 (no individual name, just a designation) is unhappy. He (or "they" as they'd be called) fought others as a child, asked a lot of questions as a teenager and was tall and handsome, unlike others. For those reasons, for jealousy others would never admit to, they were made a street cleaner rather than a scholar.
Different than the others, Equality made a friend, discovered lost science and developed feelings for a girl. It changed everything and gave them the chance to escape "we" and become "I".
It's a really good read, at least if you believe we don't all need to think the same way, have the same feelings as one another and not be made into a villain for being different. Right now, effort is being made to classify and destroy the undesirable. This book runs counter to that.
I learned of this book from a 10th grade student who had it as an assigned reading. The kid hates reading but loved this book. His teacher lent me a copy and I'm so glad it entered my life.
hjswinford's review against another edition
3.0
As a devout lover of dystopiaic writing, I was enthralled in this book from the first page. Like Orwell's 1984 (one of my favorites), this novella carries the theme of power of the written word, and the power of curiosity. It is a quick read, but powerful and profound. Rand's command of language is wonderful; there were some descriptions which I read over and over simply because I loved their imagery.
This was my first Ayn Rand, and certainly not my last.
This was my first Ayn Rand, and certainly not my last.
b_stewart99's review against another edition
4.0
Good book
This really made me think for such a short book. I enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of her boojs.
This really made me think for such a short book. I enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading more of her boojs.
missjp143's review against another edition
5.0
I am NOT in the Ayn Rand fan club but I love this read. Makes you pause and reflect, very 1984 like.
sleepychicken's review against another edition
2.0
The only reason I am not giving it a single star is that, at least, it was an easy read and had a decent, albiet basic, premise. The basicness is what I want to emphasise, since the events of the book seem almost straightforward. Whatever you read in the synopsis is pretty much all that will take place in the book, nothing more. Which isn't necessarily always a negative thing, but for a dystopian novella, I expect a bit more worldbuilding and nuance that goes beyond "main character good, others bad". The policing of equality could have been an interesting concept to explore, had it been explored in any depth that commented on the policing and not just on equality. As it is written, the book felt naively ignorant, presenting only as much issues as required for Ayn to tell her philosophy and not a bit more. Which is surprising, given the book seems appreciative of science, which is a thoroughly unmistakably collaborative effort. To use science to preach strict individualism feels disrespectful in a way I can't even begin wording how disrespectful it is. I can't even imagine a world where science was only an individualistic effort, I don't know if that world could even exist, but of course Ayn didn't elaborate on any specifics beyond the very basic that supports her ideology. It is a novella, sure, but still. The love story, too, felt very lacking, they were in love from the very first second, and there was no exploration on how love could manifest in a society where no one knows what love is. It felt laughable that the entire existence of the love interest was to just be in love and not a single ounce of personality more, not even the agency to choose her own name by herself, which contradicts Ayn's own message. At the very least, I appreciated reading a message I disagree with, it does serve as a nice insight into the minds of others, others that I would normally not surround myself with