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Yevgeny Zamyatin (Author) Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884-1937) was a naval engineer by profession and writer by vocation, who made himself an enemy of the Tsarist government by being a Bolshevik, and an enemy of the Soviet government by insisting that human beings have absolute creative freedom. He wrote short stories, plays and essays, but his masterpiece is We, written in 1920-21 and soon thereafter translated into most of the languages of the world.Clarence Brown (Introducer, Translator) Clarence Brown was a pioneer of Russian literature studies and translation. His brilliant translation of We was based on the corrected text of the novel, first published in Russia in 1988 after more than sixty years' suppression.

“Zamyatin . . . did more than predict some of the specific characteristics of totalitarianism―he predicted its defining condition: the destruction of the individual. . . . [He] found the word for it: We.” ―Masha Gessen, from the Foreword“The best single work of science fiction yet written.” —Ursula K. Le Guin“[Zamyatin’s] intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism—human sacrifice, cruelty as an end in itself—makes [We] superior to Huxley’s [Brave New World].” —George Orwell  “At this dystopian moment in world politics, everyone’s talking about 1984, but take a look at the novel that inspired it (or, at least, which George Orwell reviewed soon before he wrote 1984)—Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We. . . . The dystopia Zamyatin painted has, alas, many echoes with today’s surveillance society—just think of China’s budding ‘social credit’ program, which monitors citizens’ movements. Big Brother was a piker, compared to Xi Jinping. Zamyatin saw it coming.” —Lit Hub

• We Introduction: Zamyatin and the RoosterNotes to IntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingWERecord 1AnnouncementThe Wisest of LinesAn Epic PoemRecord 2BalletHarmony SquaredXRecord 3JacketWallThe TableRecord 4Savage with BarometerEpilepsyIfRecord 5SquareRulers of the WorldPleasant and Useful FunctionRecord 6AccidentDamned "Clear"24 HoursRecord 7An EyelashTaylorHenbane and Lily of the ValleyRecord 8The Irrational RootR-13TriangleRecord 9LiturgyIambs and TrocheesCast-Iron HandRecord 10LetterMembraneHairy MeRecord 11No, I Can't...Skip the ContentsRecord 12Limitation of InfinityAngelReflections on PoetryRecord 13FogFamiliar "You"An Absolutely Inane OccurrenceRecord 14"Mine"ForbiddenCold FloorRecord 15BellMirror-like SeaMy Fate to Burn ForeverRecord 16YellowTwo-Dimensional ShadowIncurable SoulRecord 17Through GlassI DiedHallwaysRecord 18Logical LabyrinthWounds and PlasterNever AgainRecord 19Third-Order InfinitesimalA Sullen GlareOver the ParapetRecord 20DischargeIdea MaterialZero CliffRecord 21An Author's DutySwollen IceThe Most Difficult LoveRecord 22Frozen WavesEverything Tends to PerfectionI Am a MicrobeRecord 23FlowersDissolution of a CrystalIf OnlyRecord 24Limit of FunctionEasterCross It All OutRecord 25Descent from HeavenHistory's Greatest CatastropheEnd of the KnownRecord 26The World ExistsA Rash41 CentigradeRecord 27No Contents - Can'tRecord 28Both WomenEntropy and EnergyOpaque Part of the BodyRecord 29Threads on the FaceShootsUnnatural CompressionRecord 30The Final NumberGalileo's MistakeWouldn't It Be Better?Record 31The Great OperationI Have Forgiven EverythingA Train WreckRecord 32I Do Not BelieveTractorsThe Human ChipRecord 33(No Time for Contents, Last Note)Record 34Those on LeaveA Sunny NightRadio-ValkyrieRecord 35In a HoopCarrotMurderRecord 36Blank PagesThe Christian GodAbout My MotherRecord 37InfusorianDoomsdayHer RoomRecord 38(I Don't Know What Goes Here, Maybe Just: A Cigarette Butt)Record 39The EndRecord 40FactsThe BellI Am CertainTranslator's Notes