We : A Novel

The chilling dystopian novel that influenced George Orwell while he was writing 1984, with a new introduction by Margaret Atwood and an essay by Ursula Le Guin“[Zamyatin’s] intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism— human sacrifice, cruelty as an end in itself—makes [We] superior to Huxley’s [Brave New World].” — George OrwellIn a glass-enclosed city of perfectly straight lines, ruled over by an all-powerful “Benefactor,” the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState are regulated by spies and secret police; wear identical clothing; and are distinguished only by a number assigned to them at birth. That is, until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. He can feel things. He can fall in love. And, in doing so, he begins to dangerously veer from the norms of his society, becoming embroiled in a plot to destroy OneState and liberate the city.Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We was the forerunner of canonical works from George Orwell and Aldous Huxley, among others. It was suppressed for more than sixty years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, as well as a powerful, exciting, and vivid work of science fiction that still feels relevant today.Yevgeny Zamyatin Russian novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist, whose famous anti-utopia (1924, We) prefigured Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), and inspired George Orwell's 1984 (1949). The book was considered a "malicious slander on socialism" in the Soviet Union, and it was not until 1988 that Zamyatin was rehabilitated. Due to his revolutionary activities, Zamyatin was arrested in 1905 and exiled. His first short story, 'Odin' (1908), drew on his experiences in prison. In The One State Of The Great Benefactor, There Are No Individuals, Only Numbers. Life Is An Ongoing Process Of Mathematical Precision, A Perfectly Balanced Equation. Primitive Passions And Instincts Have Been Subdued. Even Nature Has Been Defeated, Banished Behind The Green Wall. But One Frontier Remains: Outer Space. Now, With The Creation Of The Spaceship Integral, That Frontier -- And Whatever Alien Species Are To Be Found There -- Will Be Subjugated To The Beneficent Yoke Of Reason. One Number, D-503, Chief Architect Of The Integral, Decides To Record His Thoughts In The Final Days Before The Launch For The Benefit Of Less Advanced Societies. But A Chance Meeting With The Beautiful 1-330 Results In An Unexpected Discovery That Threatens Everything D-503 Believes About Himself And The One State. The Discovery -- Or Rediscovery -- Of Inner Space...and That Disease The Ancients Called The Soul. A Page-turning Sf Adventure, A Masterpiece Of Wit And Black Humor That Accurately Predicted The Horrors Of Stalinism, We Is The Classic Dystopian Novel. Its Message Of Hope And Warning Is As Timely [today] ... As It Was At The Beginning [of The Twentieth Century]. Yevgeny Zamyatin ; [translated By Mirra Ginsburg]. Originally Published: New York : Viking, 1972. Includes Bibliographical References. The chilling dystopian novel that influenced George Orwell while he was writing 1984, with a new introduction by Margaret Atwood and an essay by Ursula Le GuinIn a glass-enclosed city of perfectly straight lines, ruled over by an all-powerful “Benefactor,” the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState are regulated by spies and secret police; wear identical clothing; and are distinguished only by a number assigned to them at birth. That is, until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. He can feel things. He can fall in love. And, in doing so, he begins to dangerously veer from the norms of his society, becoming embroiled in a plot to destroy OneState and liberate the city.Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We was the forerunner of canonical works from George Orwell and Alduous Huxley, among others. It was suppressed for more than sixty years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, as well as a powerful, exciting, and vivid work of science fiction that still feels relevant today. Bela Shayevich's bold new translation breathes new life into Yevgeny Zamyatin's seminal work and refreshes it for our current era. In the One State of the great Benefactor, there are no individuals, only numbers. Life is an ongoing process of mathematical precision, a perfectly balanced equation. Primitive passions and instincts have been subdued. Even nature has been defeated, banished behind the Green Wall. But one frontier remains: outer space. Now, with the creation of the spaceship Integral, that frontier -- and whatever alien species are to be found there -- will be subjugated to the beneficent yoke of reason. One number, D-503, chief architect of the Integral, decides to record his thoughts in the final days before the launch for the benefit of less advanced societies. But a chance meeting with the beautiful 1-330 results in an unexpected discovery that threatens everything D-503 believes about himself and the One State. The discovery -- or rediscovery -- of inner space ... and that disease the ancients called the soul. A page-turning SF adventure, a masterpiece of wit and black humor that accurately predicted the horrors of Stalinism, We is the classic dystopian novel. Its message of hope and warning is as timely [today] ... as it was at the beginning [of the twentieth century] The exhilarating dystopian novel that inspired George Orwell's 1984 and foreshadowed the worst excesses of Soviet Russia Yevgeny Zamyatin's We is a powerfully inventive vision that has influenced writers from George Orwell to Ayn Rand. In a glass-enclosed city of absolute straight lines, ruled over by the all-powerful 'Benefactor', the citizens of the totalitarian society of OneState live out lives devoid of passion and creativity - until D-503, a mathematician who dreams in numbers, makes a discovery: he has an individual soul. Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, We is the classic dystopian novel and was the forerunner of works such as George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World . It was suppressed for many years in Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom, yet is also a powerful, exciting and vivid work of science fiction. Clarence Brown's brilliant translation is based on the corrected text of the novel, first published in Russia in 1988 after more than sixty years' suppression. Wikipedia We is set in the future. D-503, a spacecraft engineer, lives in the One State, an urban nation constructed almost entirely of glass, which assists mass surveillance. The structure of the state is Panopticon-like, and life is scientifically managed F. W. Taylor-style. People march in step with each other and are uniformed. There is no way of referring to people except by their given numbers. The society is run strictly by logic or reason as the primary justification for the laws or the construct of the society. The individual's behavior is based on logic by way of formulas and equations outlined by the One State. We is a dystopian novel completed in 1921. It was written in response to the author's personal experiences with the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917, his life in the Newcastle suburb of Jesmond and work in the Tyne shipyards at nearby Wallsend during the First World War. It was at Tyneside that he observed the rationalization of labor on a large scale. A superb new translation of the classic dystopian novel Set in the twenty-sixth century AD, Zamyatin's masterpiece describes life under the regimented totalitarian society of OneState, ruled over by the all-powerful 'Benefactor'. Recognized as the inspiration for George Orwell's 1984, We is the archetype of the modern dystopia, or anti-Utopia: a great prose poem detailing the fate that might befall us all if we surrender our individual selves to some collective dream of technology and fail in the vigilance that is the price of freedom. Clarence Brown's brilliant translation is based on the corrected text of the novel, first published in Russia in 1988 after more than sixty years' suppression In the One State of the great benefactor, there are no individuals, only numbers. Life is an ongoing process of mathematical precision where primitive passions and instincts have been subdued. Even nature has been banished behind the Green Wall. But one frontier remains: outer space. Now, with the creation of the spaceship "Integral", that frontier - and whatever alien species are to be found there - will be subjugated to the beneficent yoke of reason. But a chance meeting between number D-503, chief architect of the "Integral", and the beautiful I-330 results in an unexpected discovery that threatens everything D-503 believes about himself and the One State - the discovery of inner space Is a dystopian novel completed in 1921. It was written in response to the author's personal experiences with the Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917, his life in the Newcastle suburb of Jesmond and work in the Tyne shipyards at nearby Wallsend during the First World War. It was at Tyneside that he observed the rationalization of labour on a large scale I shall simply copy, word for word, the proclamation that appeared today in the One State Gazette: The building of the Integral will be completed in one hundred and twenty days.