A review by kahell
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

3.0

For a long time I wondered why We, widely considered to be the first of the "dystopian" genre, was not as known as its descendants. Now I know why: it's very hard to read. On one hand, maybe it was the translation (I read the out of copyright Zilboorg translation), on the other maybe it's the unusual narrative devices Zamyatin uses. The first-person narration of D-503 is an obstacle to follow, understandably because of the different political and social environment he was supposedly raised in, but compound that with the otherness of his society's philosophy and his practical refusal to explain anything and well, let's say it doesn't make for a very immersive experience. A shame though, because there are many noteworthy elements. Particularly, it paints a criticism of the Soviet Union that can only come from an insider. I'll have to reread this with a different translation.