334 (novel)

334 is a 1972 science-fiction fix-up novel by Thomas M. Disch, set in a near-future Manhattan and centered on the housing project at 334 East 11th Street. Composed of five long pieces and a closing sub-novel of linked vignettes, it reads as a single narrative shaped by a numerically planned structure. The book depicts overpopulation and social crowding, welfare-state management, and reproductive governance through everyday scenes rather than technological spectacle. On release it drew trade and mainstream notice and a range of critical responses; later reference works and scholars have treated it as a significant New Wave near-future novel. The novel was a finalist for the 1974 Nebula Award for Best Novel.