Kallocain Paperback – April 22, 2002

Could this novel really be mentioned in the same sentence with 1984? I was especially skeptical after reading WE -- another precursor and influence, but strangely whimsical and largely impenetrable to this American reader. However, Kallocain deserves consideration alongside 1984, ad indeed they are a duo. On the one hand, much of their inspiration came from Nazi Germany and Stalin and they both portray life in a futuristic, nightmarish, totalitarian state.But there are major differences as well, such that 1984 and Kallocain are both fresh, unique approaches to a shared interest.If Orwell tended toward the political and cultural diagnosis of the totalitarian state, Boye focuses on its implications for the human heart, without being sentimental. Orwell's Winston Smith does fall in love, but it is a love affair written up by an Englishman. There is sex and coffee and jam, and that very British mix of deep feeling and tenuous expression. Orwell is strongest elsewhere, in the realm of political theory and the subservience of culture to power. Boye, in contrast, brings her poetic sensibilities to bear on the interior lives of people living in the World State to great effect. Orwell's many contraptions -- Newspeak, the many offices, etc.--are not sources of fascination in Kallocain. This is a book about interior lives.Another marked difference concerns our protagonists. Orwell's Winston Smith is as heroic a figure as one could hope for in his dystopia. From the beginning, we are sympathetic and rooting for him, knowing full well that he is doomed. And Smith does follow the arc from saved to damned. But Boye's Leo Kall is a faithful cog in the machine, loathsome with, at best, momentary flickers of humanity. Credibly, he changes and follows the arc from damned to ... well, we are left with optimism, but no promise. Kall ends where Smith begins. In this sense, Kallocain is less dark, ending with the message that each reader, has within him or her, the green bit of life that troubles the despot because it makes love possible.If you liked 1984, you are doing yourself a major disservice by not reading this book. Like 1984, it is a compelling read with forward momentum. And it a cautionary tale that, it seems to me, can never be retold often enough.

The Worldstate of Kallocain appeared in print eight years before Orwell's famous story of totalitarian hell. Although weaker in some ways, it has more emotional impact in many others. It's about Kall, a chemist and loyal Fellow-Soldier of The State. His work re-opens earlier, failed studies on "truth serum" drugs. His new compounds eliminate the earlier drugs' toxic effects, the effect that destroyed the minds of so many human guinea pigs from the Voluntary Sacrificial Service. This time, the more merciful drug simply leaves its victims as passive, even cooperative partners in their own violation - the perverted wish of physical and mental rapists everywhere.Idealist Kall sees only its potential to help the life-giving state against its enemies, at first. Of course, he sees his invention turned to the self-serving power struggles of the party oligarchs. He sees how having that drug's power corrupts its possessor, even seeing that corruption arise in himself. By then, the evil genie is out of the bottle and granting the wishes of the oppressive State.The end of the book seems to wander. Kall sees the full force of The State's anti-terrorist army directed against a nameless little band of dreamers. He takes part in vaguely horrific trials for capital crimes against The State, with executions handed down apparently on whims and personal grudges. He ends his story with ambiguous dreams, still hoping that his pharmacological creation can live on, and still hoping (against evidence) that it can be used for genuine good.It's worth reading, though. It captures the fears of its early Soviet and pre-Nazi era, and captures the time's faith (and fear) in the power of science. And it reminds technologists that, although scientific results have no inherent morality, the people who create and use those results do - or should.--wiredweird

wonderful book, recommend this to anyone looking for a great novel to sit and get lost in... check it out!

Kallocain ist ein Wahrheitsserum, das dem Menschen die Hemmung nimmt, so dass er frei seine innersten Gedanken und Gefühle ausplaudert.Leo Kall ist der Erfinder dieses Serums, ein loyaler Mit-Soldat des Weltstaates. Eine kommunistisch angelehnte, militaristische Gemeinschaft wo individuelle Zuneigung zu Partnern, Freunden, Kindern asozial ist, wo Misstrauen und Paranoia als integraller Teil des Staats gesehen werden und nur der Staat, die Gemeinschaft, nie der Einzelne Wert hat.Das Buch beschreibt Kalls Leben ab Erfindung der Droge. Man erfährt über den streng durchorganisierten, einsamen Alltag, Kalls unsicheres Moralverständniss, seine geheime Zuneigung zu seiner Frau und seine Befürchtung, sein Chief könnte eine Affäre mit ihr haben.Das Buch beschreibt sehr bedrückend aber anschaulich die inneren Gefühle, Träume und Hoffnungen, denen sich viele Mitglieder dieses einsammen, misstrauischen Staates hingeben. Mit Kallocain ist niemand unschuldig, sagt das Buch, und das trifft es sehr gut. Niemand ist 100% loyal, kann es bei so einer angespannten Situation sein.Ich bin ein großer Freund der alten, klassischen Dystopien und fand deswegen auch dieses Buch sehr spannend und pakend.Alleine das Ende fand ich etwas plötzlich, wenig aussagekräftig, enttäuschend. Ich hätte mir mehr Auflösung ggf. sogar mehr Konsequenz gewünscht.

I stumbled upon this book by accident about 5 years ago after googling a tune called 'Kallocain' by Endre. I read this book before reading 1984 and I agree there are SOME similarities but it's not as akin to Orwell as other reviewers have claimed.I love the dark, and totalitarian storyline, and it has an ending which has a satisfying way of wrapping up everything. Although it is a little long winded to read in places, its a fascinating read into the dilemma that mankind faces when developing new scientific developments. Should those developments be for the benefit of others, or will it be used for the opposite?

A friend of mine said I should read this. It is in the milieu of Brave New World and 1984. It is a great read.