Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Brave New World
Book Review: Disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
Once again a book that garners acclaim but leaves you (me anyway) feeling like you wasted precious moments of your life--ala On The Road. But, you deserve to see for yourself and be the final judge and jury. I give the guy a five for creativity though. I did not find the romantic aspects stimulating, although they could've been.Book Review: Dystopia at its best.
Summary: 5 Stars
Brave New World is a great dystopic and satirical novel. Aldous Huxley created a world where babies are created in test tubes; love, art, literature, religion, and even science are all things of the ancient past; promiscuity and brainless happiness are qualities to be revered; people are conditioned to be satisfied with their place in society, no matter where it is. These concepts sound outlandish and crazy, but in some ways, this is our society today. Just look at the stars we choose to idolize, like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton). Also, the discouragement of people who do well in school by calling them "nerds" or "geeks" exemplifies this as well.
This novel also shows us where we might be in the future. Many dystopic novels and movies have utilized the idea that the masses will be tamed and controlled by mass drug use, such as the film Equilibrium and The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem. Who knows if we are yet to develop such a drug?
With the introduction of John the Savage, into the story, we see that some of our ideas and our social norms have no place in this society. He doesn't fit in to the "savage" society because his mother is from the world of decadence beyond the wall. He also doesn't fit into that world because he holds on to his literature and religion, even though he has limited knowledge of both.
Huxley did a great job of showing that happiness 100% of the time shouldn't be the only thing we, as a society, strive for. Other things are more important, like freedom, creativity, and compassion.
Book Review: Dystopia, i long for thee
Summary: 4 Stars
I purchased Brave New World after reading 1984, and while I must confess that I enjoyed Orwell's book just a little bit more, Huxley's work was still an immediately compelling read. I think what I liked best was just how "british" this future was, by which I mean, everything seemed so very posh and hip and how we Americans would tend to see the British, as opposed to (sorry to keep drawing comparisons) 1984, whose depictions of England were much more how they might be viewed by say, South Africa.
Another thing I liked about the story was that I didn't particularly care for any of the characters that much. I actually enjoyed the disappointment of having each character let me down just when I thought their basic goodness would shine through. Initial protagonist Bernard Marx is far from the jaded idealist that one wants to believe he is, instead vying for vapid acceptance in the shallow society that he is ostracized from; Lenina Crowne does not become enlightened to Marx or the Savage's ways of living and remains blissfully baffled by each of them, and wistfully goes on enjoying the meaningless sex and soma holidays; even John the Savage becomes unrelatable, turning into something of a zealous monk who becomes so averse to any feelings of personal satisfaction that he... well, read the book.
I thoroughly enjoyed Brave New World and will in all likelihood pick up Brave New World Revisited in the near future.
Book Review: Entertaining
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed this novel very much. The story is, for the most part, fun, fast-paced, and engaging. The only complaint I can make about this dystopian classic centers on the last few chapters. John's behavior and reaction to society simply came off as way over-the-top and disrupted the flow of the book. But perhaps that was the point; after all, John the savage never belonged in society, and this becomes painfully obvious once the book focuses on him. Huxley, no doubt, is a very clever and subtle author. But even with this defense, I still think that it slightly diminished the experience of reading Huxley's book.Book Review: Excellent Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
If you loved 1984 or the Handmaid's Tale this is another to add to the collection. This book portays a future Earth in this fiction.