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Yevgeny Zamyatin
Yevgeny Zamyatin can be thought of as a dissident in his own way (he didn't renounce Marxism but opposed
Stalinism on an artistic rather than political level). In his collection,
A Soviet Heretic, the reader can see his resistance to the struggle and the cause of his exile from his homeland.
In another collection of 15 short stories, The Dragon, from earlier this century,
there is a letter he wrote to Stalin in which he asked
to be allowed to "go abroad... with the right to return as
soon as it becomes possible in our country to serve great
ideas without cringing before little men".
ISFDB Bibliography
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A review by Colin Cooke
WE is probably the oldest 'new' release that you are likely to pick up at your local SF haven
this year. In the early 20s, Yevgeny Zamyatin foresaw some of the excesses the Russian Revolution was heading
toward, and he explored them in a brilliant satire that has become a classic in the genre of Utopian
literature. Recently re-released in English translation by Avon Eos, this precursor to (and influence on) both
1984 and Brave New World is a must for anyone who enjoys facing the complex questions of human
society in a thoroughly enjoyable and readable story.
WE shows the reader the world of the 26th century where people are satisfied citizens of the One State
and where virtually every movement and thought is controlled by the State. The population has traded the archaic
notion of freedom for that of measured, controlled happiness. Living quarters are made of glass; people are
referred to by number; movements are controlled by the Table of Hours; sexual intercourse is by appointment.
Mathematics is king and logic divine. Even poetry and music are created and manipulated to further the goals of
the system. The reader enters in at the stage where humanity is about to set off to generously spread
the 'good news' about its way of life to other planets. Then, a typically human thing happens -- someone
breaks the rules and tries to do things differently.
D-503, the designer of the spaceship that will take the One State to the stars, has his world turned upside
down when he meets a mysterious woman.
Nothing is quite the same thereafter and the story follows his descent into the madness that you and I would
probably consider normal. Visiting a doctor for help, he discovers that his ailment -- he has developed a soul -- is incurable.
Zamyatin creates a world where nothing is sacred. He challenges our perception and thinking on everything
from relationships to governance.
WE
is a philosophical treatise in the form of a good tale and is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago. At
the time that it was written, it was also a warning, but one that was never heeded. Only now is Zamyatin
entering into the consciousness of the Russian people. 1999 marks the first year that many Moscow students
are studying this previously banned book.
The author once gave a metaphorical definition of good books:
"There are
books of the same chemical composition as dynamite. The difference lies only in the fact that one stick of
dynamite explodes only once, but one book explodes a thousand times."
This is an excellent way to describe WE. Like 1984, it is not the lightest read of the year; it
is, however, one that will challenge you on many levels. Definitely a good read for the cold winter nights ahead!
Copyright © 1999 by Colin Cooke
This is Colin Cooke's first review for the SF Site. He has recently
returned from a visit to Moscow.
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