We
We by Yevgeny Zamyatinby Yevgeny Zamyatin
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 8 dystopian novels by recommenders
Recommended as a prescient, subtler Soviet-era dystopia than Orwell's 1984, with immersive worldbuilding. No recurring criticism; some prefer the 'One State' translation.
Recommended as a prescient, subtler Soviet-era dystopia than Orwell's 1984, with immersive worldbuilding. No recurring criticism; some prefer the 'One State' translation.
11 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Prefer it over Orwell's 1984
“I personally find it more compelling than Orwell's work”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Happy Public Domain Day 2026” “it's more subtle than 1984”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Artificial egg hatched 26 healthy chickens” Prescient about surveillance and technology
“to get some perspective on the extreme of a life where everything you do is potentially visible to any and everyone around you”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “California farmers are struggling to sell grapes as demand for wine drops” “We was prescient politically, socially and technologically”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “History LLMs: Models trained exclusively on pre-1913 texts”
Other dystopian novels people recommend
The four most recommended other dystopian novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984by George Orwell | 42 | 8 | 84% | 11 | — | Approved |
| The Roadby Cormac McCarthy | 27 | 2 | 93% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Nineteen Eighty-Fourby George Orwell | 24 | 0 | 100% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Weby Yevgeny ZamyatinThis page | 11 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Handmaid's Taleby Margaret Atwood | 6 | 2 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 12 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the worldbuilding is much easier to immerse myself in”
“to get some perspective on the extreme of a life where everything you do is potentially visible to any and everyone around you”
“The translation that called it "One State" was so much better.”
“Its honestly a much better book.”
“it's more subtle than 1984”
“If you want Soviet Style distopia, better read "We" from Zamyatin.”
“I personally find it more compelling than Orwell's work”
“We was prescient politically, socially and technologically”
“I've heard of it, I will see if I can find an audiobook.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.