Kallocain

Outside Sweden, Karin Boye's best-known work is probably the 1940 dystopian novel Kallocain. Inspired by her visit to the USSR in 1928 & her visit to Germany during the rise of National Socialism in the '30s it was a portrayal of a society in the vein of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four & Huxley's Brave New World tho written almost a decade before the former. Seen thru the eyes of idealistic scientist Leo Kall, her depiction of a world state is a montage of totalitarianism. The novel was filmed in Sweden 1981 & was the main influence for the movie Equilibrium. Its central idea grew from the rumors of truth drugs that ensured the subservience of every citizen to the state. Kallocain has been translated in to more than 10 languages & was adapted into a tv miniseries in 1981 by Hans Abramson. The plot centers around Leo Kall, written in diary form. Leo Kall is a scientist who is incredibly loyal to the government & develops the drug, Kallocain, which is a truth drug. It has the effect that anyone who takes it will reveal anything, even things they weren't consciously aware of. Major themes include the notion of self in a totalitarian state, the meaning of life & the power of love.