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A review by ziggyreadz
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
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