Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
We cover art

We

By: Yevgeny Zamyatin
Narrated by: Philippe Duquenoy
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Truth and Other Stories cover art
Living Next Door to the God of Love cover art
The Listener and Other Stories cover art
The Purple Cloud cover art
The Door in the Wall [Classic Tales Edition] cover art
I Sing the Body Electric! cover art
The Damned & Other Stories of the Macabre cover art
Sinister Sentiments cover art
Monday Starts on Saturday cover art
The Aviator cover art
A Man of Shadows cover art
Solaris cover art
Brave New World cover art
His Hideous Heart cover art
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge cover art
A Voyage to Arcturus cover art

Summary

Before George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, there was We, the dark dystopian tale by Yevgeny Zamyatin. In this Russian novel, Zamyatin gives the listener a look inside a glass city where a totalitarian society thrives, at least on the surface.

Those who live in this futuristic city are always taken care of but they lack creativity and individuality. This all changes when a mathematician named D-503 discovers that he has a soul that is separate from the OneState. He and the citizens of OneState live out their lives deprived of passion and creativity. Their names have been taken away and replaced with numbers, their daily routines are dictated by the “Time Tablet” which tells them what they should do, and when they should do it, hour after hour. 

This powerful science fiction novel has been a source of inspiration for dystopian writers since its publication in 1921. We is as powerful today as it was nearly a hundred years ago.

©2020 Goffin Media (P)2020 Goffin Media

What listeners say about We

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    7
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    5
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    9
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Well worth a listen

A very important work in the early anti-totalitarian dystopian fictions, with an obvious influence on the later Brave New World and 1984.
Perhaps it’s partly the translation, but the performance was leaden, and with no variation in characters’ voices, and little in the way of variation in pace, atmosphere or passion, this was a bit of a slog.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A hidden gem

I've never heard of We however after listening to this book I'm disappointed I couldn't have experienced it sooner.

As a book which influenced the likes of 1984 it's a fantastic companion to the series of distopian based novels from the era. A great asset not just to dissect the minds of the past but also to help influence the future.

I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a book to whisk you away whilst also making you question current life as well and the idea of a utopian society

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Prototype to the classics

I went into this knowing that We inspired the classical dystopian novels like 1984 and Brave New World, so it’s no surprise that there were similarities and common themes which I enjoyed.

However, the performance is awful. It’s like listening to a novel read by a speak-and-spell. Unfortunately, the narrative style combined with the terrible performance makes this a very hard listen.

I would recommend the book but would suggest reading this one and skip the audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A pain to listen to

The style of writing and narration is odd and dry. I'm guessing it's like that in part but makes it a difficult listen. I chose the book due to the historical context relating to communism. I'd rather listen to a book review.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

The worst story telling I’ve ever heard

There are some movies that become cult classics because they are so bad. This is the Audible equivalent. The narration is so poorly performed that you simply can’t follow the story. I’m a huge fan of Audible books but please, please, please don’t listen to this book unless you’re doing it for novelty value. Honestly, what was the publisher thinking…

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful