Just finished reading “We” this morning. It was an odd read, translated from 1921 Russian, so some of the phrasing is awkward, but overall quite good. Retro poeticism intermingled with the struggle of the individual vs society in the name of rationality, it isn’t something most modern people haven’t read before in Brave New World, Clockwork Orange or 1984, but “We” was one of the first, if not the very first novels to tackle the subject. That it was written by a man in the aftermath of the Russian revolution which formed the Soviet Union gives the novel an unexpected weight and a wide-eyed (but not starry), glimpse of one of the major themes of the 20th century.

It was a fun read, with a good amount of weighty material to geek out over. Thanks to Robin for the unexpected gift.