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alicemorrison1029's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.25
mhanson101's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.5
chucklesq's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The premise is interesting and it’s clear to see the influence on other great dystopian books such as 1984 but it’s so incredibly hard to read!! It’s the closest I’ve come to a DNF, but powered through despite not really understanding most of the plot in the last quarter.
sarahjo142's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Always good to read the foundational works of a genre (this being a foundation for sci-fi and dystopian novels). Was hard to follow sometimes, but overall a gripping journey with very important themes. I think I’m used to a bit more world building in my books, which was not very present in this one, but that’s more of a personal preference. Will definitely have to revisit this one in the future to get a better grip on it.
jane_marduk's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ratherberead's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
ziggyreadz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
We was really excellent. Although I was tired of the plot by this point (I know that it was the blueprint for dystopian sci fi, so it was revolutionary at the time — that didn’t erase all of the bad, formulaic dystopian books I have read), the writing was incredible and fast paced enough to keep you interested.
The writing style was far and away my favorite part of this book. It is surreal and metaphorical to the point of sometimes being obscure, though not flowery. It is entirely based in logic and mathematics, which I feel Zamyatin fully dedicated himself to in this work. It is a thorough aesthetic exploration of a man yearning to be a machine (and failing).
Without spoiling too much, I thought the plot was decently subversive — despite the now familiar beats, I was still on the edge of my seat.
I really enjoyed the fact that D-503 remained an ambiguous character until the end. Most current (American) dystopian novels have the protagonist ideologically convert to being anti-establishment, but D-503 is torn apart by the split between his ideas (allegiance to the One State) and his feelings (I-330). I think this makes the more compelling argument that totalitarianism doesn’t work because you cannot eradicate the basic human need to express emotion and desire to have freedoms, as opposed to convincing the protagonist that it is subjectively/morally wrong.
One other thing I will mention is that there is a black character, R-13, and he is described in a very racist way. Every time he popped up in the book I was cringing.
The writing style was far and away my favorite part of this book. It is surreal and metaphorical to the point of sometimes being obscure, though not flowery. It is entirely based in logic and mathematics, which I feel Zamyatin fully dedicated himself to in this work. It is a thorough aesthetic exploration of a man yearning to be a machine (and failing).
Without spoiling too much, I thought the plot was decently subversive — despite the now familiar beats, I was still on the edge of my seat.
I really enjoyed the fact that D-503 remained an ambiguous character until the end. Most current (American) dystopian novels have the protagonist ideologically convert to being anti-establishment, but D-503 is torn apart by the split between his ideas (allegiance to the One State) and his feelings (I-330). I think this makes the more compelling argument that totalitarianism doesn’t work because you cannot eradicate the basic human need to express emotion and desire to have freedoms, as opposed to convincing the protagonist that it is subjectively/morally wrong.
One other thing I will mention is that there is a black character, R-13, and he is described in a very racist way. Every time he popped up in the book I was cringing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual content
katiescho741's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me ages to read! It's short but it's not exactly a page turning thriller. It's definitely worth a read if you're a fan of Brave New World or 1984.
It's in the form of a diary by a mathematician. Everyone has a combination of letters and numbers as their ID instead of a name and the Benefactor rules society. The majority of the book very obviously inspired sections of Brave new World... the pre-arranged sex, the organised activities and such on. Towards the end you can see where it inspired 1984. Even the ending is very similar.
I found it interesting that our protagonist seems to be on board with the society he lives in...he enjoys the logic and reason and organisation of it all. And he often disdains of the idea of individuality and embraces the concept of "we".
It's told in disjointed prose and the events are told in a bit of a chaotic way because it's a diary. The writing itself feels surprisingly modern, if I wasn't aware it was written in the 1920s I would have thought it a recent release. It hasn't dated too much with regards to technology or ideas. Except for the slightly racist obsession our protagonist has with his friend's lips. This detail is mentioned quite a lot and at first you think it's very forward thinking that Zamyatin has included a person of colour as a friend, but every single time the friend appears, there's several racist lines about his lips which are extremely awkward reading.
This book is interesting from the perspective of how it influenced the two big dystopia novels, but it was a tough book to get through. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Orwell and Huxley but I can't say I would enjoy it outside of the comparison.
It's in the form of a diary by a mathematician. Everyone has a combination of letters and numbers as their ID instead of a name and the Benefactor rules society. The majority of the book very obviously inspired sections of Brave new World... the pre-arranged sex, the organised activities and such on. Towards the end you can see where it inspired 1984. Even the ending is very similar.
I found it interesting that our protagonist seems to be on board with the society he lives in...he enjoys the logic and reason and organisation of it all. And he often disdains of the idea of individuality and embraces the concept of "we".
It's told in disjointed prose and the events are told in a bit of a chaotic way because it's a diary. The writing itself feels surprisingly modern, if I wasn't aware it was written in the 1920s I would have thought it a recent release. It hasn't dated too much with regards to technology or ideas. Except for the slightly racist obsession our protagonist has with his friend's lips. This detail is mentioned quite a lot and at first you think it's very forward thinking that Zamyatin has included a person of colour as a friend, but every single time the friend appears, there's several racist lines about his lips which are extremely awkward reading.
This book is interesting from the perspective of how it influenced the two big dystopia novels, but it was a tough book to get through. I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Orwell and Huxley but I can't say I would enjoy it outside of the comparison.
ventellina's review against another edition
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5