We

De: Yevgeny Zamyatin

Narrado por: Jonathan Keeble

'Happiness without freedom, or freedom without happiness. There was no third alternative.'

Yevgeny Zamaytin’s We (1920-21) is often cited as the first dystopian novel and was acknowledged by George Orwell to have inspired both Animal Farm and 1984. We is a powerfully inventive tale that foreshadowed some of the worst oppression perpetrated in Soviet Russia and remains a resounding cry for individual freedom.

In a glass-walled world in the twenty-sixth century, the totalitarian OneState is a society where individuality is suppressed and conformity is enforced through strict rules and surveillance. Through the journal entries of Mathematician D-503, the narrative explores the protagonist’s journey from unquestioning obedience to the state to questioning its rigid control to experiencing human emotions and discovering he has a soul.

A hugely influential dystopian novel that was suppresssed in Russia for decades, We is a haunting tale of rebellion against totalitarian control.

Russian author and political dissident Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884–1937) was a former Bolshevik who became a critic of Soviet conformity, and was censured for his uncompromising literary defiance. When We was blacklisted by the Soviet censorship board, Zamaytin arranged for it to be smuggled to the West for publication, an act that ultimately led to his exile from his homeland. He died in poverty in Paris.

Public Domain (P)2021 SNR Audio

Surprisingly current for a 100+ year old tale

Incredibly prescient story. The basis for Brave New World and 1984. Pacy and atmospheric. Excellent narration.

The Story

The story was a wild ride and the end had me on the edge, it will captivate you.

Great novel, We are all in debt to.

I first read this novel ten years ago. My first reaction was to to feel cheated by The authors of 1984 and Brave New World. However, further research revealed just how ground breaking this work is. The real sadness is that so few people seem to have read the work, and it appears, listened to it. I hope that changes.
Great narration by Jonathan Keeble.

Glass walls

I enjoyed it. Definitely puts 1984 in a new light knowing this was written before. The perspective of the story is done really well, all coming from the main character‘s journal. Pretty solid.

Not really enjoyable or understandable

I'm not quite sure what I listened to. I downloaded WE because Jeffrey Wright said it was one of his all time favorite books. He's one of my all time favorite actors.

WE has compelling descriptions but not quite a compelling story. The narrator protagonist is angry without any real awareness or knowledge of his anger. There seems to be a constant build-up throughout the book, but the end felt very anti-climactic. Not sure if that was intentional to feed into the uselessness of everything.