Brave New World (Study Texts S.) (Transaction Large Print S.) (Harper Perennial Modern Classics)

by Aldous Huxley

Margaret Atwood (Introduction)

Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone in feeling discontent. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, and a perverse distaste for the pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress-Huxley's ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterpiece.

• ISBN10: 0099458160
• ISBN13: 9780099458166
• Publish Date: 1 April 2004 (first published 12 December 1932)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 10 July 2008
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Vintage
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[lyx]

3.5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed the first part of the book and learning about the "(brave) new world" and the people acting in it, as well as some of the conversations towards the end - and getting a different perspective through a certain someone - just the middle chunk of the book was a bit tedious to get through. A very interesting read nonetheless, and shocking to see how close we are to the depicted reality in certain aspects (and how far from it in others). I might not have fully loved it, but would certainly recommend it.

[Briana @ Pages Unbound]

Initial Thoughts: I read this in high school and hated it and was hoping I would have a fresh perspective re-reading it now. I still think it's flat and boring. I understand that part of the point is that the life in the supposed utopia is flat, but that didn't stop me from yawning. There are some interesting themes here, since the things that the society here values are certain things our society is pushing for us to value, but overall I just can't find the narrative or the characters compelling.

[mary]

Meh. Yeah. Another dystopian novel. I thought the beginning was a bit melodramatic. The whole book was pessimistic though. I can appreciate the warning, and it's a good satire. (guess I've read all the most famous dystopian novels now, the giver, fahrenheit 451 and 1984). Overall, I'm very glad I read it, but I'm not so sure I would read it again.

[clementine]

I think that now that we have so much dystopian literature available (much of which directly builds on ideas presented in the classics such as Brave New World), we are desensitized to it. I can see how the ideas and themes in Brave New World would have been shocking and exciting at the time. Now, though, the dystopian market has been pretty well saturated, and this book doesn't have the impact I think it would have had in the 30s. There are definitely some issues that I think could have been overlooked if this were shocking to me.

First, I liked the premise. The world was very interesting and chilling, and the way in which Mustapha Mond rationalizes it makes it even more terrifying - because it almost makes sense. Obviously the world is very well-developed, and full of lots of little details that make it interesting and all the more disturbing! I really enjoyed the socialist naming scheme, and the tidbit of information that there is a very small pool of these names that is shared by everyone.

I think my main issue is with the plot - or rather, the lack of one. The whole book is very expository. Again, I think this is effective when your intent is to be shocking and to present new and thrilling ideas. Building up this clearly terrifying world works well when that's what you want to achieve. And I certainly liked where the ending was taken - again, chilling and abrupt. But I didn't find the plot (or what there was of one) very interesting! I think a lot of this was the excessive dialogue. This book could have benefited from more action and more description and much less expository dialogue! Dialogue cannot carry the story. It is an effective tool, of course, but using it to explain everything (and in great long paragraphs, too - who talks like that?) is lazy and boring. As a result, I couldn't really dive into this book properly. I always felt as though I was just skimming the surface and not fully getting immersed in it, despite the well-constructed world. It just wasn't vivid enough to hold my attention fully.

I did enjoy that unlike the majority of dystopian novels I've read, where the themes seem to be repression, abstinence, and poverty, Brave New World depicts a society that is all about sexual expression and excessive consumption. On the surface, the society may seem happy and almost utopian, which raises questions about the flip side of any utopian society.

At the end of the day, this is definitely required reading for all the dystopian lovers out there! So much of the current stuff builds on the classics, and reading them can enhance understanding and appreciation - so while I didn't love this book, I think it deserves to be read.

[celinenyx]

Liked it better than 1984.

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Aldous Huxley got it right when he wrote Brave New World, he wrote about a society were everyone lived for themselves, only considered about the pleasure they would receive out of life. This was written as a Utopian society but it does seem to reflect our society as well. The novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Brave New World fifth on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

[angelarenea9]

I liked hearing about the way the world worked. I have noticed I like the actual utopian society best in most dis-topia books. I got a little bored when they went to the reservation. But it was a relatively OK book and I enjoyed it enough to remember most of it years later.