Book Review: We was written by a Russian (Evgenij Zamjatin) and published in the early 1920s, both of which make this book of historical as well as literary interest. There are two types of dystopian novels (at the time called "anti-utopian"), too much government (The Hunger Games) or too little (The Road). This is the former, and considered a precursor to George Orwell's 1984. Our journaling narrator is the engineer in charge of the One State's first interstellar rocket. He's content in his rigidly controlled society where people literally live in glass houses where everyone can be seen rising at the same time, eating at the same time, going to work at the same time (not sleeping at night is a criminal offence -- no mention of bathrooms); every act and emotion is prescribed. Content, that is, until he meets a mysterious woman, I-330, strong, intelligent, daring, who stirs him to acts he never even dared imagine. Which lead to endless mental anguish and torment. That's what it's about, but what did I think? In We, the reader is always one step ahead of our naive narrator, seeing and understanding more than he does; we know what is to come as he stumbles along. The world building is well done, creating a sterile society literally walled off from nature and all that is natural. A society where numbers (not "people") blindly follow directions, cheering on the repressive Guardians, and the Benefactor is annually elected unanimously. Overall the plot is fairly simple and simply told, but still a compelling story that read quickly and was satisfying at every step. Enjoyable, thought-provoking, and well-translated by Mirra Ginsburg. Knowledge of the time and place in which it was written (shortly after the Russian revolution) will add to an appreciation of We. Although some of the details may seem obvious or derivative, it's only because of the many books that came after and paid tribute to this one. [4★] 🐢
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