Brave New World Review
Genre📚
Fiction: Dystopian Sci-Fi
Quick Summary📝
In this novel Huxley depicts a bleak dystopian future. One where babies are manufactured from bottles, movies feel so real they touch you, and humans are conditioned into a class and role from birth. Throughout the story we follow a few characters wandering around this brave new world.
Review🤔
Absolutely mental. If humans invented hell, Brave New World would probably be the closest picture.
Every new detail I uncovered about 2450 London slowly filled me with horror; the people factories, drug-dependent happiness, and manufactured classes were just the beginning. Next, there were the eerie descriptions of each resident’s pleasure-seeking life, and engaging drug benders ending in massive orgies. Huxley truly paints a picture of a world addicted to dopamine. No humanity; a manufactured Fordian nightmare. Except I find this hell isn’t so fantasy-like as much as it’s plausible.
See a majority of the technology and psychology displayed in Huxley's dystopia already exists; we can currently alter genetics, condition toddlers, and synthesize powerful narcotics. It's just a matter of “should we” rather than “can we”. Similarly, the “government” of this world aren’t so much comic book villains as much as they actually replicate modern-day politicians; pushing an agenda they believe helps society. It's all scarily realistic.
For me, this is true horror. Absolute terror isn’t a ghost coming at me in the middle of the night. Rather, it's an idea that is possible: being kidnapped, losing a child, the unknown vacuum of space, or living an unfulfilling life. Huxley understands and maximizes this sensation.
But outside of the world he showed me, Huxley also filled me with ideas. He wraps this story with a decent chunk of philosophical commentary; deeply questioning the sources of happiness, reasons for god, and the place of science in society. A different organization of our humanity is really challenged in this book.
I think that's what's so unique about Huxley’s story: the world and its implications. The characters honestly aren’t super special and the story is relatively nonexistent. But if you want to read something that makes you question what it means to be a human and how our society should function, buy this. It's insane.
Overall, this was a pleasant surprise; an extremely unique story that holds many layers.
Who is this for?🤷♂️🤷♀️
Fans of Sci-fi
Anyone interested in reading “the classics”
People looking into soft philosophy in their fiction.
Top 3 Quotes💬
“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”
“Never put off till tomorrow the fun you can have today.”
“All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects.”
Criticism🧐
Very unconventional character arcs. The story is sort of split between two main people 45/45 and then the last 10% is split among some side characters.
The main draw of this novel is the world and its ideas. The philosophical implications of a society like this. The story, to be honest, is non-existent.
Oh, and also the language. It's weird. This novel has some very cringe 1930s singing lines: a standout was something like “Orgy-Porgy”. I think it was cool to write like that during Huxley’s time, but reading it now is almost embarrassing.
Reading Difficulty Level📊
Fairly straightforward. Anyone can read this.
Book vs. Audiobook📖/🎧
I listened to the audiobook, and it's mixed. On one hand, I think it makes this story more enjoyable and easier to read with narration. But on the other, I found the narrator got on my nerves quite often with his screechy British voice. Could go either way here, to be honest.
If you are thinking of doing an audiobook route, maybe listen to a sample.
Final Score out of 10⭐️
8/10 - Very fun dystopian novel.
