334 (novel)
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Dust-jacket from the first edition (hardcover)
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| Author | Thomas M. Disch |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Dystopian, science fiction novel |
| Published | 1972 (MacGibbon & Kee) |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 201 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 707750 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.D615 Th3 PS3554.I8 |
334 is a science fiction novel by American author Thomas M. Disch, written in 1972. It is a dystopian look at everyday life in New York City around the year 2025.
Most of the novel's characters live in a huge housing project at 334 East 11th Street, in Manhattan. The title also refers to the year 334 AD, during the later years of the Roman Empire; numerous comparisons are made between the decline of Rome and the future of the United States.
The future in 334 has brought few technological advances except for new medical techniques and recreational drugs. There have been no dramatic disasters, but overpopulation has made housing and other resources scarce; the response is a program of compulsory birth control and eugenics. A welfare state provides for basic needs through an all-encompassing agency called MODICUM, but there is an extreme class division between welfare recipients and professionals.
The novel consists of five independent novellas (previously published separately) with a common setting but different characters, and a longer sub-novel called "334" whose many short sections trace the members of a single family forward and backward in time. The sections are as follows:
334 was selected by David Pringle as one of the 100 best science-fiction novels written since World War II. Samuel R. Delany's The American Shore (1978) is a book-length critical essay on the novella "Angouleme"; Delany argues that despite the lack of any scientific themes in "Angouleme", its speculative setting makes it inherently science fiction. The novel was nominated for a 1974 Nebula Award. Previously, the novella "334" won a Locus Poll Award in 1973.
In the 9th chapter of "Neon Genesis Evangelion" 334 is the shelter number that Kensuke and Toji are in.
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