We

We is about early dystopian book that served as inspiration for later works in the genre including Orwell's famed 1984. Like these other works, it is both compelling and dated. We tells the story of a person (or in the parlance of the book, a number) who is assigned the task of building a space ship which will carry the culture and values of their society (OneState) to the stars. OneState is a totalitarian regime that values logic and reason, and views freedom and imagination as disease. As I read the book I was struck by how much of the book I have seen reflected in later dystopian works, but also on both sides of the American political spectrum. Particularly now during the COVID pandemic questions of freedom vs responsibility to the collective have been at the forefront of public thought. I must admit that some of the ideologies of OneState were similar to thoughts I have had over the last 18 months. Of course the limitation of personal freedom during the extraordinary circumstances of a pandemic is different than the reigning in of freedom and intellectual uniformity in general, but We offers a chilling look of what could happen if these ideas were taken to their extreme. Although I liked the book overall I was put off by some outdated aspects such as euro-centric/racist language. Overall this is a decent book, and some of its ideas are timeless, but the actual prose is not. Also, the foreword contains spoilers, so I'd recommend saving it until after you've finished the book.