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The stories in 334 revolve loosely around a government housing project at 334 East 11th Street in New York City in the 2020s. The project's inhabitants are universally poor, often jobless, sometimes squalid. Some are happy, others angry, depressed, or just numb. The stories study their hopes and disappointments, and all are deeply introspective.

The early 21st-century setting might, in the hands of another author, be only a guise, a shortcut to making a world that's more gritty, shabby, and used up than ours. But Disch's future is thoroughly imagined, and he's adept at dropping in details of his characters' lives that are commonplace to them but jarring to us. It might be something as simple as going to the kitchen to "mix up a glass of milk." Occasionally it's radical, as in the case of Millie, who wants to have a baby but also keep her career. The answer? The child is gestated in an artificial womb and Millie's husband gets mammary implants.

Though American, Disch is closely associated with the UK's New Wave movement, and these stories reflect the New Wave emphasis on character above ideas. He's also a well-known poet, and in 334 you'll find some of the most lyrical science fiction written. --Brooks Peck --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

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3.7 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best Disch on the table, but tasty in its own way..., Aug 11 2003

By	Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: 334: A Novel (Paperback)

Disch takes us through the lives of several people living at 334 11th Street, an apartment complex contolled by MODICOM; a modern day welfare system of social case workers.
The time frame jumps between 2020 and 2026, and especially in Part III the time frames jump from chapter to chapter, even with the same characters. It got a little frustrating when something would happen to one of them, and suddenly you are back in a time frame with this same character that you read about already, 50 pages ago. Some of Disch's characters are fully formed and multi-dimensional, but unfortunatly those are not the ones we get to see the most of.
Mainly, the story follows the Hansen's and the people they know and come in contact with in 334. Despite not being the best story Disch has written, the prose and poetry of his writing is still very much present, and at only 250 pages this is still a good addition to your reading pile.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Hyperfiction circa 1974, April 15 2003

By	"melanthius" (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 334: A Novel (Paperback)

A novel that has forces us to examine our world by scaring us with what it might become. Although that sentence can be used to describe any novel in the dystopian theme, 334 is a work that stands out with its seductive realism that dares us to find a way this isn't plausible. Disch is one of the few lyrical novelists writing sci-fi, and or that we are blessed. 334 is disjointed almost to absurdity in the post-modernist fashion, but Disch does not idly throw his readers through time and space. This is, debatably, the first work that uses this style for more than an attention-getter, suspense tool, or bookend. Disch fleshes his characters to the reader with a logic and style that would only be hampered by linearity. A superb read-and-think.

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3.0 out of 5 stars 3.34 stars out of 5, Jan 21 2003

By	S. Lewis (Bristol, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: 334: A Novel (Paperback)

After reading "On Wings of Song" I was thoroughly impressed and motivated to investigate more of Thomas M. Disch's work, so I went on to try "334". I had no idea that I was headed for such a tough read. Like "On Wings of Song", "334" deals with a near future America that is divided and somewhat autocratic.

"334" is basically a collection of loosely connected short stories and novellas tenuously strung together as a novel. And as a result of that the reader must be prepared for a very disjointed ride. Just as you start to get a handle on the characters and situations the rug is pulled from underneath your feet and you are back to square one with a new story and new characters.

This chop and change feeling never really settles well until the last novella, "334" where at least vague attempts are made to connect the plots. It is also in novella "334" where Disch delves deepest into character development and beautifully plots the downward spiral of a dysfunctional family.

But of all the stories, "Bodies" I feel shines the most. The central character Ab Holt's attempts to conceal his necrophilic dealings is handled with great humour and insight. Here Disch makes a crushing dig at capitalism; where in the future America even human bodies are a commodity, even if only on the black market.

Disch touches upon many issues here that still resonate today, remember his prediction of limiting pregnancy is several years before China's 1979 one family, one child law.

"334" as a novel is worth persevering with, try not to let the nonlinear narrative and future setting distract from what is a well constructed social commentary.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Well, let's see...
It's sometime in the 2020's in New York City. From governmental permission to procreate based on test scores to a society nursed on various drugs, 334 by Thomas Disch creates the... Read more

Published on Mar 19 2001 by A. Gresham

4.0 out of 5 stars 334
The book 334 is a journey into the future, where babies are grown in bottles and promiscuity is no longer "promiscuous. Read more

Published on Mar 18 2001 by Jennifer Lake

3.0 out of 5 stars 334
Thomas Disch takes us through the lives of people living in building number 334 on 11th street in New York. But this is no ordinary story, and it isn't in ordinary times. Read more

Published on Mar 13 2001 by Amy

4.0 out of 5 stars 334- A Look Into the Future
334 is a science fiction novel written by Thomas Disch. The book 334 looks into how lives may possibly be in the near future. Read more

Published on Mar 5 2001 by Alisson Kallenbach