334

Book cover of 334

Book description

Number 334, the city street address of a place in which time pivots forward and backward, becomes the setting for a unique odyssey through human history. Reprint. 12,500 first printing.

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Why read it?

1 author picked 334 as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Alvaro Zinos-Amaro

Author

The two main reasons I’m including 334 on this list are its structure and themes. This is an intricate mosaic novel built around a series of interconnected tales set in an apartment building, following characters through a four-year period.

It explores ideas like people inhabiting such subjectively different worlds that they can’t truly communicate with each other, the visibility or lack thereof of class lines, and the ultimate futility of crime, virtual reality, and cryonics to provide any true solution to life’s woes. Irony, art, and death are always a stone’s throw away.

Disch’s mastery of style and the rhythm…

From Alvaro's list on mind-bending 1970s science fiction.