Cover not available
We
In a glass city composed of absolute straight lines, ruled over by the all-powerful 'Benefactor', the citizens of OneState live their lives without passion or agency. That is until D-503, a man tasked with bringing the Revolution to the stars, meets a remarkable woman . . .
Supressed in Russia for decades, Zamyatin's dystopian masterpiece prophesised the worst excesses of the Soviet Union, while creating an enduring and vivid vision of what future societies might look like - a vision which would inspire George Orwell's 1984 and many subsequent dystopias.
Why it's similar
Both novels depict an omniscient totalitarian surveillance state where citizens are stripped of individuality, and both protagonists commit thoughtcrime through a illicit diary and forbidden love.
What's different
While 1984 portrays a decaying, grime-covered industrial society driven by fear and deprivation, We is set in an ultra-mathematical, transparent glass city centered on hyper-rationalism.