Book review: We (Y. Zamyatin)
I have always been fascinated by utopian novels. Just like the unexplainable alure of horror movies when we were kids, I like the frisson of reading about societies that strip rights away from their citizens. I’m sure there must be a label for this kind of fetish, and a very scientific explanation. Either way, for those who enjoy utopian reads, not being introduced to “We” by Zamiatin is like a sadomasochist who has never experienced the crack of whip. So I set off to reading this one, and boy, what a trip.
This book has numerous parallels with the two utopian giants: Huxley’s “Brave New World” and Orwell’s “1984”. I read a review by the latter, where he claimed that Huxley was conspicuously inspired by Zamiatin when writing Brave New World, with the most salient difference being the lack of political connotation in the plot. I, on the other hand, believe that Orwell was projecting himself in denouncing Huxley this way. The idea of a ruled, glass-walled society, which its citizens obey a ruler or an idea consciously rather than being on a drug, feels far more Orwellian. Which is by no means a bad thing.
Leaving the obvious political speech aside, Zamiatin’s tale is incredible in its own right, especially since it is one of the earliest Utopian science fictions. Zamiatin was a visionary author, both in the scientific details of his imaginary world and in his philosophical implications. It is impossible not to establish a parallel between the book and our impending destiny within the neoliberal context: if privacy and democracy don’t give as much room for profit, why try so hard to keep them breathing?