Anthem by Ayn Rand
Imagine a world where the only crime punishable by death is to use the word "I". Imagine having to say "We are happy" instead of "I am happy". Imagine having to say "We love you" instead of "I love you".
This disturbing world Ayn Rand has created survives on the basis that everyone must individually suffer to meet the needs of the many. The story follows an intelligent, 21 year-old male who stands at 6 foot named Equality 7-2521. He is often made to feel bad as he is smarter than his fellow brothers and this is seen as a bad thing. He tries to make himself forget things he has learnt but cannot. He also gets a lot of grief about the fact he is taller than his brothers when really everyone should be the same height, because in this world everyone is equal.
Equality 7-2521 dreams of continuing his education by being assigned to the House of Scholars, however, he is assigned the role of street-sweeper when his education is over.
Slowly, he breaks more and more of the strange laws this world has forced upon him. I won't say which laws he dares to break, but let's just say it makes for a very interesting read. So interesting, I read the entire novella around two hours. Seriously, just read it. If you have a goodreads account you can read it for free - that's what I did. Although, you can also just google "Anthem novel" and you'll get the option to read it on your laptop, iPad, phone, what have you, completely free of charge.
