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1938, novella, Cassell (UK)

Anthem

A short dystopia set in a future collectivist society where the word "I" has been lost. The narrator, Equality 7-2521, rediscovers electric light and, with it, his own individuality.

First published in England in 1938; a revised edition was published in the United States in 1946.

Source

Number 1 in our suggested reading order: Short enough to read in an evening, and introduces the theme of the individual against the collective.

Characters

Lines from it

  • “I am. I think. I will.”

    Equality 7-2521. Chapter XI.

Essays on it