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Cecily's Reviews > We
We
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Cecily's review
bookshelves: scifi-future-speculative-fict, colonialism-exploration-empires, dystopian-apocalyptic, identity, maths, mental-health-victorian-madness, postmodern-meta, russia, solitary-protagonist, survivalist, favourites
Jun 16, 2014
bookshelves: scifi-future-speculative-fict, colonialism-exploration-empires, dystopian-apocalyptic, identity, maths, mental-health-victorian-madness, postmodern-meta, russia, solitary-protagonist, survivalist, favourites
Breathtakingly brilliant, like the crystal glass buildings of the One State - in Natasha Randall's 2007 translation (older ones may differ a lot).
Seamlessly switching between beauty and horror:
�In the morning, the sun is rosy, transparent, warm gold. And the air itself is a little rosy, all steeped in the sun’s gentle blood.�
Laden with oxymorons: simultaneously Utopia and dystopia.
Polychromatic, synaesthetic, hypnotic, and often blurring reality and dreams.
Profound and prophetic, from a century ago.
Unlike anything else I’ve read, yet there are echoes to and from other writers.
Consider
� If you could have only happiness OR freedom, which would you pick?
� Is it possible to be happy without freedom?
� Or perhaps, if you believe you're happy, nothing else matters?
A question not explicitly addressed is how you can have state poetry and music in a society that suppresses and punishes individuality, imagination, and soul?
Setup - no spoilers
After the Two-Hundred Year War, which killed all but 0.2% of humanity, the One State built the Green Wall to separate it from the wilds beyond. It’s now a thousand years later: the Accumulator Tower protects against major storms, the streets and apartment blocks are made of sparkling glass, everyone lives happily and harmoniously with plenty of food (petroleum-based), work, and clothes, overseen by the Benefactor, elected on the Great Day of the One Vote. It doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
Image: Futuristic glass skyline, reflected, in blue hues ()
But with a Table of Hours that includes curfew, and nicotine and alcohol prohibited, it’s almost monastic, except they can have sex, by formal request (which they can't refuse). More sinisterly, health, happiness, and conformity are compulsory. Pregnancy requires permission, and babies go straight to the Children-Rearing Factory. The Bureau of Guardians ensures compliance, but mostly people believe they're happy:
�Even in our thoughts. No one is ever ‘one�, but always ‘one of�. We are so identical.�
The horror is mostly clinical and philosophical, rather than bloody and grim (and when it's the latter, it's performed as a beautified ritual).
One State is preparing to launch a rocket called the Integral, with a �heavy cargo of inescapable happiness�. The dawn of benevolent colonisation?
�If they won’t understand that we bring them mathematically infallible happiness, it will be our duty to force them to be happy.�
D-503 is only thirty-two and is the chief builder, writing this journal for unknown “planetary readers�. His mathematical metaphors gradually become more imaginative and lyrical. And crazed. Because imagination is a dangerous flaw in an authoritarian state, with no privacy, where you never know who you can trust.
�How pleasant it was to feel someone’s vigilant eye lovingly protecting you from the slightest mistake.�
Individuals
Other main characters are O-90 (D's usual sexual partner, who is as round as her identity), R-13 (schoolfriend of D, state poet at executions (beauty and horror, again), and occasional sexual partner of O), I-330 (a singular woman, with agency, who D is repulsed by and attracted to), and S-4711 (with serpentine posture).
�Everything was in its place, so simple, normal, legitimate: glassy buildings, beaming with lights; a glassy, pale sky; a greenish, still night. But underneath all this quiet, chilly glass, the boiling, the crimson, the shagginess drifted inaudibly.�
Inevitably, not all the shiny happy people are quite as happy as they’re supposed to be, but that’s revealed gradually, in a narrative that blends cold numbers and facts with ravishing dreams and unconsciousness, creating tense mystery and lush drama.
Image: “The Feeling of Darkness� by Raija Jokinen: flax/sewing yarn/starch delicate model of a person ()
I’ve read and watched enough sci-fi that the basic plot contained few surprises, but the telling of this is superlative, and it's better to read the inspiration than just the imitators.
�A person is a novel: you don’t know how it will end until the very last page.�
The closing words of this translation are suitably nuanced:
�I hope we will win. More than that: I know we will win. Because reason should win.�
Which “we�?
Whose definition of “reason�?
And that “should� is significant.
Quotes
There are many descriptions and metaphors relating to geometry, equations, glass, crystal, yellow (and, to a lesser extent, blue), and lips, lots of lips (including R's “African lips�, which always repel him). These are all from Natasha Randall's translation.
They are hidden for easy scrolling; no actual spoilers.
Synaesthetic
(view spoiler)
Architecture
(view spoiler)
Ideology
(view spoiler)
Light and sky
(view spoiler)
Lips
(view spoiler)
Significance
This is a ground-breaking cornerstone of sci-fi dystopias, but even if it weren’t, it would be worth reading. It was written in 1921, first published in English translation in 1924, and finally published in Russian in 1952 (it was banned for many years because the critique of authoritarian collectivism was so clear).
The style won't appeal to everyone, but for those who enjoy dystopias and ethereal writing, it's a must. I was blown away by its brilliance, especially in comparison with 1984 and Brave New World, which I can't see in the same light after reading this ur-dystopia, which is masterfully superior, although they are important for their wider readership.
� George Orwell’s 1984 borrows heavily in terms of plot, but without the exquisite language or indeed, the physically beautiful city: his Oceania is clearly dystopian from the start and power is maintained by fear and suffering. See my review HERE.
� Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World also borrows from this, with drug-based happiness being unfulfilling, and where Huxley has Henry Ford as an icon of industrial efficiency, Zamyatin has . See my review HERE.
� The lyrical writing about subtly darkening dystopian horror surely influenced Ray Bradbury, several of whose books I reviewed HERE, as well as Kay Dick’s They: A Sequence of Unease, which I reviewed HERE.
� Apparently, other works directly inspired by this include:
- Ayn Rand's Anthem
- Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano
- Ursula K Le Guin's The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
� Zamyatin’s father was an Orthodox priest, and although Zamyatin lost his faith quite young, there are clear Biblical analogies, especially Adam and Eve and Mephi(stopholes).
� I wonder if Zamyatin was familiar with Kafka, specifically, the Harrow (like the Gas Bell Jar) in In the Penal Colony, which I reviewed HERE. See all my Kafka many reviews HERE.
Translations and Will Self's introduction
My edition was translated by Natasha Randall, who explained her approach to Zamyatin’s “syncopated� style in a useful preface. I’m told Zilboorg's translation is the one to avoid (United State, rather than One State, for example, and generally clunky and hard to read).
Mine was published with an introduction by Will Self that, when I got home, I discovered had been carefully cut out by the previous owner, and the excision pointed out on the title page. I couldn't find the whole text online, so I had no idea why he hated it so much! But he did write his name and phone number in it, so I'm tempted to get in touch...!
Having loved this book, I was shocked to discover neither my twenty-something nor their spouse, who met via their uni sci-fi society, had read this! So I ordered a copy for them - a new one, with Will Self's introduction, which I copied, read, and put in my book.
The worst thing about Self's piece is that it was OK, but unremarkable. I can’t understand why it would stir vehement feelings (for or against). The only bit that stood out was this rather pretentious sentence:
�With its plosive language, its prose of stuttering enjambment, its pell-mell transitions of space, time and psychic state, its agonies of ellipsis and its daring synaesthesia, We may be out of this world � yet it remains profoundly of it.�
Anyway, the kiddos will have a copy by the end of the month, and I hope that at least one of them reads it and loves it as much as I did.
Seamlessly switching between beauty and horror:
�In the morning, the sun is rosy, transparent, warm gold. And the air itself is a little rosy, all steeped in the sun’s gentle blood.�
Laden with oxymorons: simultaneously Utopia and dystopia.
Polychromatic, synaesthetic, hypnotic, and often blurring reality and dreams.
Profound and prophetic, from a century ago.
Unlike anything else I’ve read, yet there are echoes to and from other writers.
Consider
� If you could have only happiness OR freedom, which would you pick?
� Is it possible to be happy without freedom?
� Or perhaps, if you believe you're happy, nothing else matters?
A question not explicitly addressed is how you can have state poetry and music in a society that suppresses and punishes individuality, imagination, and soul?
Setup - no spoilers
After the Two-Hundred Year War, which killed all but 0.2% of humanity, the One State built the Green Wall to separate it from the wilds beyond. It’s now a thousand years later: the Accumulator Tower protects against major storms, the streets and apartment blocks are made of sparkling glass, everyone lives happily and harmoniously with plenty of food (petroleum-based), work, and clothes, overseen by the Benefactor, elected on the Great Day of the One Vote. It doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
Image: Futuristic glass skyline, reflected, in blue hues ()
But with a Table of Hours that includes curfew, and nicotine and alcohol prohibited, it’s almost monastic, except they can have sex, by formal request (which they can't refuse). More sinisterly, health, happiness, and conformity are compulsory. Pregnancy requires permission, and babies go straight to the Children-Rearing Factory. The Bureau of Guardians ensures compliance, but mostly people believe they're happy:
�Even in our thoughts. No one is ever ‘one�, but always ‘one of�. We are so identical.�
The horror is mostly clinical and philosophical, rather than bloody and grim (and when it's the latter, it's performed as a beautified ritual).
One State is preparing to launch a rocket called the Integral, with a �heavy cargo of inescapable happiness�. The dawn of benevolent colonisation?
�If they won’t understand that we bring them mathematically infallible happiness, it will be our duty to force them to be happy.�
D-503 is only thirty-two and is the chief builder, writing this journal for unknown “planetary readers�. His mathematical metaphors gradually become more imaginative and lyrical. And crazed. Because imagination is a dangerous flaw in an authoritarian state, with no privacy, where you never know who you can trust.
�How pleasant it was to feel someone’s vigilant eye lovingly protecting you from the slightest mistake.�
Individuals
Other main characters are O-90 (D's usual sexual partner, who is as round as her identity), R-13 (schoolfriend of D, state poet at executions (beauty and horror, again), and occasional sexual partner of O), I-330 (a singular woman, with agency, who D is repulsed by and attracted to), and S-4711 (with serpentine posture).
�Everything was in its place, so simple, normal, legitimate: glassy buildings, beaming with lights; a glassy, pale sky; a greenish, still night. But underneath all this quiet, chilly glass, the boiling, the crimson, the shagginess drifted inaudibly.�
Inevitably, not all the shiny happy people are quite as happy as they’re supposed to be, but that’s revealed gradually, in a narrative that blends cold numbers and facts with ravishing dreams and unconsciousness, creating tense mystery and lush drama.
Image: “The Feeling of Darkness� by Raija Jokinen: flax/sewing yarn/starch delicate model of a person ()
I’ve read and watched enough sci-fi that the basic plot contained few surprises, but the telling of this is superlative, and it's better to read the inspiration than just the imitators.
�A person is a novel: you don’t know how it will end until the very last page.�
The closing words of this translation are suitably nuanced:
�I hope we will win. More than that: I know we will win. Because reason should win.�
Which “we�?
Whose definition of “reason�?
And that “should� is significant.
Quotes
There are many descriptions and metaphors relating to geometry, equations, glass, crystal, yellow (and, to a lesser extent, blue), and lips, lots of lips (including R's “African lips�, which always repel him). These are all from Natasha Randall's translation.
They are hidden for easy scrolling; no actual spoilers.
Synaesthetic
(view spoiler)
Architecture
(view spoiler)
Ideology
(view spoiler)
Light and sky
(view spoiler)
Lips
(view spoiler)
Significance
This is a ground-breaking cornerstone of sci-fi dystopias, but even if it weren’t, it would be worth reading. It was written in 1921, first published in English translation in 1924, and finally published in Russian in 1952 (it was banned for many years because the critique of authoritarian collectivism was so clear).
The style won't appeal to everyone, but for those who enjoy dystopias and ethereal writing, it's a must. I was blown away by its brilliance, especially in comparison with 1984 and Brave New World, which I can't see in the same light after reading this ur-dystopia, which is masterfully superior, although they are important for their wider readership.
� George Orwell’s 1984 borrows heavily in terms of plot, but without the exquisite language or indeed, the physically beautiful city: his Oceania is clearly dystopian from the start and power is maintained by fear and suffering. See my review HERE.
� Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World also borrows from this, with drug-based happiness being unfulfilling, and where Huxley has Henry Ford as an icon of industrial efficiency, Zamyatin has . See my review HERE.
� The lyrical writing about subtly darkening dystopian horror surely influenced Ray Bradbury, several of whose books I reviewed HERE, as well as Kay Dick’s They: A Sequence of Unease, which I reviewed HERE.
� Apparently, other works directly inspired by this include:
- Ayn Rand's Anthem
- Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano
- Ursula K Le Guin's The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia
� Zamyatin’s father was an Orthodox priest, and although Zamyatin lost his faith quite young, there are clear Biblical analogies, especially Adam and Eve and Mephi(stopholes).
� I wonder if Zamyatin was familiar with Kafka, specifically, the Harrow (like the Gas Bell Jar) in In the Penal Colony, which I reviewed HERE. See all my Kafka many reviews HERE.
Translations and Will Self's introduction
My edition was translated by Natasha Randall, who explained her approach to Zamyatin’s “syncopated� style in a useful preface. I’m told Zilboorg's translation is the one to avoid (United State, rather than One State, for example, and generally clunky and hard to read).
Mine was published with an introduction by Will Self that, when I got home, I discovered had been carefully cut out by the previous owner, and the excision pointed out on the title page. I couldn't find the whole text online, so I had no idea why he hated it so much! But he did write his name and phone number in it, so I'm tempted to get in touch...!
Having loved this book, I was shocked to discover neither my twenty-something nor their spouse, who met via their uni sci-fi society, had read this! So I ordered a copy for them - a new one, with Will Self's introduction, which I copied, read, and put in my book.
The worst thing about Self's piece is that it was OK, but unremarkable. I can’t understand why it would stir vehement feelings (for or against). The only bit that stood out was this rather pretentious sentence:
�With its plosive language, its prose of stuttering enjambment, its pell-mell transitions of space, time and psychic state, its agonies of ellipsis and its daring synaesthesia, We may be out of this world � yet it remains profoundly of it.�
Anyway, the kiddos will have a copy by the end of the month, and I hope that at least one of them reads it and loves it as much as I did.
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Reading Progress
June 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 16, 2014
– Shelved
June 16, 2014
– Shelved as:
scifi-future-speculative-fict
March 1, 2024
–
Started Reading
March 7, 2024
–
100.0%
"Breathtakingly brilliant, like the crystal glass buildings of the One State.
Profound and prophetic (from 1921).
Polychromatic, synaesthetic, hypnotic, and often blurring reality and dreams.
Unlike anything else I've read, and yet there are echoes of Kafka, and although Orwell and Huxley were famously inspired by this, Bradbury's lyrical dystopianism was also here first.
Review to come."
page
203
Profound and prophetic (from 1921).
Polychromatic, synaesthetic, hypnotic, and often blurring reality and dreams.
Unlike anything else I've read, and yet there are echoes of Kafka, and although Orwell and Huxley were famously inspired by this, Bradbury's lyrical dystopianism was also here first.
Review to come."
March 7, 2024
–
Finished Reading
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
colonialism-exploration-empires
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
dystopian-apocalyptic
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
identity
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
maths
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
mental-health-victorian-madness
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
postmodern-meta
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
russia
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
solitary-protagonist
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
survivalist
March 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
favourites
Comments Showing 1-46 of 46 (46 new)
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I’m also reading this one. On page 80 at the moment and I’m mesmerized by the writing. So sublime and I love how the main character combines maths with a very sensitive prose style. I’m enjoying it a lot more than 1984 so far :). Looking forward to your review!
Eleni wrote: "... for a Russian Fairy Tale course I co-teach, we do a selection from Yevgeny Zamyatin's Fairy Tales for Grown-Up Children. I am curious what you make of We..."I haven't got as far as seeing what else he's written, but fairytales makes sense. I will write a full review of this when I've finished reading it.
Deviant Sam wrote: "I’m also reading this one. On page 80 at the moment and I’m mesmerized by the writing..."I'm only slightly ahead of you, and I'm also mesmerised by the writing. I've not read anything quite like it before, so I'm savouring it.
another voice from the peanut gallery in praise of this remarkable book
Magdelanye wrote: "another voice from the peanut gallery in praise of this remarkable book"Good to know, though I'm far enough through not to need persuading.
You make me want to revisit it. I remember I read it when I was on a dystopian classics kick, shortly after 1984 and Brave New World, and I didn‘t like it as much as the former, but more than the latter—minus the way the women are portrayed.
Great review, Cecily! I will have to check this one out.
Tanya wrote: "You make me want to revisit it. I remember I read it when I was on a dystopian classics kick, shortly after 1984 and Brave New World...."Oh, do. It won't take long, and I'm sure it's richer on a reread.
Tanya wrote: "... I didn‘t like it as much as the former, but more than the latter—minus the way the women are portrayed."
I've read worse than all of them. For 1921, I-330 has a lot of agency and isn't just a sex object.
Scott wrote: "Great review, Cecily! I will have to check this one out."Do check it out. I'd heard of it, but never been motivated to read it until I came across a cheap copy in a charity shop, and it's gone straight to my Favourites shelf.
This is on my list for this year. I will come back to read your review later. . . . I understand this book informed the writing of 1984. . . . I will find out soon.
It is a great book, the best I think of the three dystopian novels you mention.Zamyatin spent some time near Newcastle upon tyne as a naval engineer just before or just after 1914, and the experience I've heard was an influence upon 'We'. One of the ice breakers Zamyatin designed was still in service in Russia at least down to the 1990s
An outstanding review, Cecily. I read it at least three times to enjoy the lyricism in the prose you quoted.
Cynda is healing 2024 wrote: "This is on my list for this year. I will come back to read your review later. . . . I understand this book informed the writing of 1984. . . . I will find out soon."The links with 1984 are very clear, and mean the plot of this will hold few surprises - but even so, it's utterly brilliant. Don't be beguiled by it's brevity (203 pages): savour it slowly.
Jan-Maat wrote: "It is a great book, the best I think of the three dystopian novels you mention..."Unquestionably! And thanks for the info about Zamyatin's time as a naval engineer. I expect that sort of production line might relate to his reverence for FW Taylor.
Maybe Will Self's intro is the only part of the book he did keep?
Laysee wrote: "An outstanding review, Cecily. I read it at least three times to enjoy the lyricism in the prose you quoted."If you're ever tempted to dip your toes in dystopias, which I realise is unlikely, this is the one I'd recommend to you: the language is beautiful, as you noticed, the horror is clinical and philosophical, rather than bloody and grim, and the Biblical parallels would speak to you.
Thank you for you kind words, as always.
Alicia wrote: "Maybe Will Self's intro is the only part of the book he did keep?"I confess I didn't consider that, and took the crossing out and "not any more" in the final photo as made in anger. However, it was cut out carefully, as if with a razor blade, rather than scissors, so you may be right. I am so tempted to call the landline phone number he wrote in the front, beside his name. What holds me back is that I bought it in a charity shop and it could be from the estate of someone who's died, and I wouldn't want to upset the bereaved.
EDIT: It turns out that neither my kid nor their spouse have read this or have a copy of it, so I'm remedying that by buying them a new version, that includes Self's intro - which I will read and copy before handing over!
Truly beautiful review! :)
Bradley wrote: "Truly beautiful review! :)"It's a truly beautiful (and horrific!) book, as your own review also shows. Thanks, Bradley.
I've only eyed this book from afar. Your review has drawn me in Cecily!
Tsung wrote: "I've only eyed this book from afar. Your review has drawn me in Cecily!"I'm glad to hear it, and hope you enjoy the book itself.
By coincidence I have acquired a radio version dramatised by the BBC which I am going to listen to after lights out tonight.
Harry wrote: "By coincidence I have acquired a radio version dramatised by the BBC which I am going to listen to after lights out tonight."I hope it's good - and that lights out doesn't mean you nod off (as I would).
That's an extremely clever cover... On a few different levels
"George Orwell’s 1984 borrows heavily in terms of plot". I object. As TS Eliot once said, great writers do not borrow, they steal directly.I like Orwell's book better but 1984 would never have been written if Orwell had not read We when he was in Paris.
Your review is excellent as are the vast majority that you write.
Alicia wrote: "That's an extremely clever cover... On a few different levels"It is, but if you browse all the editions of the book, there is a huge variety of many excellent covers.
Czarny wrote: ""George Orwell’s 1984 borrows heavily in terms of plot". I object. As TS Eliot once said, great writers do not borrow, they steal directly..."Ah, I think I've heard that line. It's good. I chose "borrows" as less contentious, though I know that Orwell admitted his source of inspiration, and ever wrote a review of it.
Czarny wrote: "... Your review is excellent as are the vast majority that you write"
Now I'm intrigued - rhetorically - about the sub-par ones!
I actually listen to stuff most nights precisely to help me nod off! Last week included Solaris which was very dreamlike. If it is something Im reviewing for my column I'll run it through during daylight hours.
Harry wrote: "I actually listen to stuff most nights precisely to help me nod off!...."Each to their own - it's why I don't do audiobooks: even if I'm fully awake, my eyes and mind drift to others things.
A stellar review, as always, Cecily. I only gave it three stars, but after reading your review wonder if that was as much the translator (I read Mirra Ginsburgs translation to your Natasha Randall). So, when you mention the lyrical writing in this one or the clunkiness in Zilboorg's, I often wonder how much that plays into my appreciation.It's odd to think how far WE've come in the world. The lines, �...Those two, in paradise, were given a choice: happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative...� and “The only means of ridding man of crime is ridding him of freedom.� are even more poignant now than when I read this back in May of 2021.
I finished the book May 1, 2021. May 5, 2021 a friend of mine had a psychotic break, and in that state committed several crimes. May 11, 2021 I was served a warrant for my phone. I had done nothing wrong, and indeed worked diligently to help in that situation, but nonetheless. Every appearance of freedom and privacy I thought I had was shattered. Even though I'd done nothing wrong, the state (and my employer) had access to where I had been, what I had bought, private conversations with my wife - personal jokes I had made to her, which they questioned me about in my deposition... And there's no fighting it. WE're there.
I became increasingly paranoid that I would do something wrong without intending to, and get in trouble for it. Literature, in this moment, was a great help to me.
The story is much more involved, obviously, but it's interesting to go back and realized how close together the reading of this book, and those events were in my life. And it made me realize how much the idea of privacy has changed in the last 100 years, let alone the last 50. ...Or even 10. (My family tracks each other's location on my phone now... which means so does the state, and a multitude of corporations. But we're happy - or think we are, which is essentially the same thing, I guess.)
Wonderful review of a wonderful book, Cecily! I confess, I never thought of The Dispossessed as being inspired by Zamyatin, but of course it makes perfect sense.Now I’m absolutely intrigued by the motives under excising the introduction and pointing out the deed on the title page. There must be such a well of emotions there 🤔
Philip wrote: "A stellar review, as always, Cecily. I only gave it three stars, but after reading your review wonder if that was as much the translator..."Translation can be a huge issue, and having read many friends' excellent reviews of this now - including yours - that seems to be the case with this. If you're tempted to reread it, do try Randall's (I got a very cheap, new paperback online for the kiddos).
Philip wrote: "... May 5, 2021 a friend of mine had a psychotic break, and in that state committed several crimes. May 11, 2021 I was served a warrant for my phone. I had done nothing wrong... I became increasingly paranoid that I would do something wrong without intending to, and get in trouble for it. Literature, in this moment, was a great help to me."
How awful. Even knowing you'd done nothing wrong, the invasion of privacy must be visceral. Thank goodness for the solace of literary escapes.
Philip wrote: "... it made me realize how much the idea of privacy has changed in the last 100 years, let alone the last 50. ...Or even 10...."
Very true, and there are new categories, too. There are friends on GR who probably know more about some aspects of my inner life than most of my family do: it's an odd sort of public-private realm.
Nataliya wrote: "Wonderful review of a wonderful book, Cecily! I confess, I never thought of The Dispossessed as being inspired by Zamyatin, but of course it makes perfect sense..."I haven't read The Dispossessed, but Wikipedia mentioned it (hence my caveat, "allegedly").
Nataliya wrote: "... I’m absolutely intrigued by the motives under excising the introduction and pointing out the deed on the title page. There must be such a well of emotions there 🤔"
I am intrigued, too. All the more so, now I've read what he excised and found no cause to love or hate it. I was thinking a phone call would be too intrusive (it's a landline, so can't text, and what if he'd died, and a grieving family member answered), but my mother was intrigued too, especially as the area code is adjacent to hers. He's in her most recent phone directory - and she told me his address. Now I'm wondering if a letter would look too stalkerish! Any thoughts on whether to write, and if so, what to say?!
Great review Cecily. Sounds very interesting. This book has actually been on my nightstand for a very long time, but maybe I'll get around to read it now. :-)
He's in her most recent phone directory - and she told me his address. Now I'm wondering if a letter would look too stalkerish! Any thoughts on whether to write, and if so, what to say?!-"Oi! Whadya cut off the introduction by Will Self to Zamyatin's "We", - your former copy of which I recently bought and thoroughly enjoyed, for? By the way, thanks for donating the book" ?!
áDz wrote: "Great review Cecily. Sounds very interesting. This book has actually been on my nightstand for a very long time, but maybe I'll get around to read it now. :-)"If you already have a copy, do read it - though I hope it's not the Zilboorg translation.
Jan-Maat wrote: ""Oi! Whadya cut off the introduction by Will Self to Zamyatin's "We", - your former copy of which I recently bought and thoroughly enjoyed, for? By the way, thanks for donating the book" ?!"LOL, but not quite my style. I think I will be unable to resist writing to him, and in the unlikely event he replies, I'll update my review.
Your superlative review, Cecily, further cements the position of We, on my bookshelf where it has been residing since half a decade. As if it being one of the originals was not enough, the stunning imagery with wordplay adds, ironically, an allure to the dystopia. Looking forward to reading it sometime sooner than later.
Seemita wrote: "Your superlative review, Cecily, further cements the position of We, on my bookshelf where it has been residing since half a decade..."We all have books like that. This was merely on my virtual TBR until I saw a copy in a charity shop. I hope you have a decent translation and enjoy it as much as I did.
A super review, Cecily. You have added extra depth and meaning to the book I enjoyed very much.Love your aside about the Will Self introduction. I've been to a few Self events in Sussex, Kent and London during these last few years and he's certainly not an author to prevaricate, or become evasive when asked a direct question, so I will make it my business to draw to his attention the rage he elicited from the previous reader of your copy of We. I imagine he will be deligted to have generated such a visceral response!
Jonathan wrote: "A super review, Cecily. You have added extra depth and meaning to the book I enjoyed very much.Love your aside about the Will Self introduction. I've been to a few Self events... I will make it my business to draw to his attention the rage he elicited from the previous reader of your copy of We. I imagine he will be deligted to have generated such a visceral response!"
That seals it: I am going to write to Self, c/o his publisher, and to the man who triumphantly removed the introduction (he lives near my mother, and she found his address in her phone book!).
1. I should probably read something by Self first: what do you suggest?
2. Then the question will be whether to write to them at the same time, or to write to one, and hope to get a reply, before writing to the other...
Watch this space!
On what Will Self suggestion I would go with Why Read. It’s a selection of his essays, (2001-2021) and so a bit disjointed. Published just over a year ago in January 2023. There’s a great essay on Marshall McCluhan and I have subsequently always looked at page 69 with heightened interest� cryptic, but it will make sense if you check him out.
Jonathan wrote: "On what Will Self suggestion I would go with Why Read... There’s a great essay on Marshall McCluhan and I have subsequently always looked at page 69 with heightened interest� cryptic..."
Thanks, although I'm pretty sure I already know what your cryptic comment refers to, so I may try that, even though I generally prefer fiction to essays!
Cecily wrote: "Philip wrote: "A stellar review, as always, Cecily. I only gave it three stars, but after reading your review wonder if that was as much the translator..."Translation can be a huge issue, and hav..."
Thank you, Cecily. I always appreciate how well you keep up with people you interact with on here. I'll check out the Randall edition.
Philip wrote: "... I'll check out the Randall edition."I got lucky by picking it up in a charity shop, without considering the translator, and only discovered after I'd read and reviewed it that I had the one that most people think is superior. I then found an inexpensive (new) paperback version for the kiddos.
for a Russian Fairy Tale course I co-teach, we do a selection from Yevgeny Zamyatin's Fairy Tales for Grown-Up Children. I am curious what you make of We are its on my "'to read"' list too.