We by Yevgeny Zamyatin, Mirra Ginsburg Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of We
Book Review: Very significant novel, but didn't care for the writing style
Summary: 3 Stars
This book was important conceptually, as the precursor of Brave New World and 1984. As such, it deserves a significant place in world and Russian literature. It is easy to see why it was banned in the Soviet Union, with the unanimous elections in chapter 24 and the Benefactor sounding like Stalin, even though the latter had not yet acquired power at the time the book was written.
However, as a story I found this dull. It takes place in a dream-like atmosphere, making the action difficult to follow, and draining some of the force from the potentially powerful ideas. As nameless numbered ciphers - a powerfully frightening idea - the characters lack the human believability of Winston Smith and Julia in 1984. The twist in the ending made me doubt what had happened anyway, though was very like the more brutally straightforward end of 1984.
Book Review: AN OVERLOOKED CLASSIC
Summary: 5 Stars
WE is a treasure. A classic of Russian literature, unjustly overlooked. Yes, it isn't easy to read, but get into it and it's worth the effort for the rewards. A must. Book Review: Just the pink ticket!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Zambutin offers an imaginative account of what it could be like to live in a state where practically all an individual's daily activities are monitored and subject to the will of a ruthless dictator. In We the fictional internal context is a future society called OneState, where humans are called Numbers and their daily activities (e.g. working, eating, sleeping) are dictated by the Table of Hours. Presiding over the collective is a ruler known as the Benefactor who's will is enforced by the `experienced eye of the Guardians', which may involve coercion, torture (the `Bell') and execution by the `Machine of the Benefactor'. Technology is a significant detail of OneState, particularly the eagerly anticipated launch of a space ship known as the INTEGRAL. Zamyatin's urban landscape is crowded with flying machines, glass steel structures yet devoid of plant and animal life. The Numbers are merely mechanical components of a single system, fed on petroleum food and programmed to respond to a strict timetable. Depersonalisation and system conformity is enforced, for example by a uniform dress code, `Personal Hours' and state controlled child production ; but most importantly, by the mass delusion that freedom is anarchy. The first person narrator D-503, who is the builder of the INTEGRAL , commences his `Records' applauding OneState as `the most perfect form of life' and he scoffs at freedom likening it to the condition of 'beasts'. The antithesis of OneState is the Mephi and what lies beyond the `Green Wall'. Considering the potentially bleak subject matter I found some passages funny particularly D-503's brain-washed, child-like naivety which is conveyed at the start of the book where he is found praising OneState: a society that considers the `Railroad Timetable' to be a monument of `ancient literature'. For me the interest in this book lies in its value as an early example of the Big Brother theme, which is explored in the fine introduction to this edition. Book Review: Integral inside an Integral inside an Integral
Summary: 5 Stars
Zamyatin's WE is the most important literary work on the future and the present and the past of the humanity. His work goes beyond the common conundrum on a collective, monotonous society. How it strives for a perfection in unity and seemingly achieves it and yet, has its proud citizens fallen into an apathy of search of the "corrcet" form of freedom.
The main hero is a brillinat mastermind of a scientist that has invested his very much so reasonable life to the service of the City State - the Integral - for its betterment, roughly speaking going from perfection to super-perfection. His scientific gist is to produce the one precise time and space breaking machine that will transport the society onto a state nearly divine and pure (for that's the aim of any state/law system)...The plot of the novel can be fully expressed with one question: Does the aim really justify the means? ...
From thenon the storyline revolves around not the existence of freedoms and rights themselves but rather the forms and mechanisms of their practice...The integral is to put time/space deadlines in a perfectly formatted manner on THE WAY to think, to be when exercising basic freedoms.
As a catalyst of the perfect integral, Zamyatin brings a parallel world into the story - a world of green, far-stretching-into-the-horizon forests and rivers and a society that lives there seemingly happily ever after, who have it all, including the luxury of spending their time to use their freedom anyway they wish.
The link between these two worlds is an Alice-in-the-Wonderland style vertycal corridor accessible from inside the scientist's non-state-appointed girlfriend's bedroom. Hi state-appointed-and-approved partner is merely in his life for reproductive purposes, whereas the girlfriend character is rather free-willed and a genius when it comes to understanding the scientist's most devoured thoughts, e.g. mathematical equations and theories on integrals.
While the two struggle to convert each other, their passion dies sometime in-between his loyalty to the Wise Man leading the City State and her urge of administering the free-living parallel society.
Zamyatin's tale is merely an expression of the struggle of two constant powers. Contrary to many sci-fi novels, he avoids labeling the struggle as "Good vs Bad" or "East vs West"...His writing is nearly a call of decency to every individual: when pointing at a king and shouting "the Emperor has no clothes", every individual has to be able to see that they, too, "have no clothes", for they were the ones electing the very same people they're chanting again...In short - there IS NO Them...The individuals, the families, the cities, the countries, the world, the universe, the universes - it's all pur and simply "WE". What makes We a WE is when every "ME" is "me" - a non-labelled, non-dependant element whose existence is built on one and only God-given freedom - the CHOICE...
Literally, enjoy reading every single line of this book... If after reading it, you encounter a difficulty to open and enjoy another book just as much, do not wonder why, go back to Zamyatin - the ultimate timeless classic (or choose not to).
Book Review: A warning for all times
Summary: 5 Stars
"We" is a powerful dystopian novel. Written in the 1920s, it is one of the first books that warns us, in an entertaining way, against the temptation of total control.
In certain ways, "We" is clearly an old-fashioned sci-fi novel. Set in the 26th Century, it feels strange that the main character seems to construct something resembling an old-fashioned moon rocket to reach the planets of our own solar system and that he writes his notes, to tell potential Venusians and Uranites about his world, on paper by hand. All our present worries about oil running out in the near future make it less credible that 26th C. food is made out of petroleum.
Zamyatin clearly is not a visionary as Leonardo Da Vinci or Jules Verne. But if you can look through this somewhat old-fashioned styled future, you will find some very powerful ideas. The persons in this ideal world of "OneState" are proud to be Numbers, minuscule parts of the great machinery. They are happy to be punished if they walk out of line. Put into words by a mathematician, the deregulatin love-story in the novel feel sometimes shaky, but still credulous. The main reason why everyone should read this, is that the line of thinking is at the heart of most antidemocratic tendencies. The system fails to be human, but still prevails. "We" is a warning for all times.