We

We
Yevgeny Zamyatin
Penguin Books, 1993

First impression:
As by many sci-fi novels I was long put off by the fear that the book would become too complicated, especially having read just the first two chapters. A bit in, however, having reached the conclusion that the confusing bits are intentionally such, I am thoroughly enjoying the stream-of-consciousness narrative and the poetic formulas which sometimes sneak into the industrialised world image. This novel is pre-1984, so as far as dystopia goes it should be interesting.

Review:
In the end, this book reminded me in a way of my experience of Proust; the beginning and the end were very good, but although this book was rather short, I found the middle part hard to get through. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that it was very non-conventional, artistic and had a lot of depth, but I often felt confined in the narrative of the main character, who had a narrow and fragmented world view. I guess that's where the book's potential to be brilliant lies, and I did like it on mind-tickling grounds, even though I found that it was a bit too ambiguous plot-wise to suit my usual taste.

Rating: Impressive