BookFrontier
We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Book

We

A Novel

Yevgeny Zamyatin, Bela Shayevich, Margaret Atwood

HarperCollins · Print & ebook · November 2, 2021

Reading lane: Literary Fiction

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 In 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.

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Cold Precision

A sharp, unnerving read that rewards close attention without asking for patience as a virtue.

Come here for

  • layered literary unease
  • apocalypse-adjacent Russian classic

Expect

  • a sustained narrative read
  • immersion with a side of explanation

Book Details

Authors
Yevgeny Zamyatin, Bela Shayevich, Margaret Atwood
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published
November 2, 2021
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Literary Fiction · Sci-Fi
Reading lane
Literary Fiction

Affinity

Publisher Categories

  • Literary Fiction

  • Sci-Fi

  • Dystopian

About This Book

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 In 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 mathematici...

Read full description

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 In 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.

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