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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hated every second. Totally lived up to the hype. 10/10
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thoughts girls have at the age of 15 being considered revolutionary and groundbreaking by men in their 40s final boss
I have said it before and I will say it again, just because you have a few good quotes and a kind of interesting world-building does NOT mean you have written a masterpiece
Sure, some of the commentary about our consumerist society is pretty spot on
But riddle me this... Whose side was this supposed to be on??
Sure the "civilization" was supposed to be this big bad evil and the "savage" was supposed to be the voice of good and reason, but don't forget that at the same time the "savage" was calling a woman a whore for being sexual out of wedlock... And the civilization was actually chill and actually no one was complaining and everyone was happy but it wasn't good to be happy and-
Yeah you get the point
And if that WAS the point actually, in which case, call me dumb, illiterate, whatever you want, it just wasn't executed well
The language was extremely repetitive, felt like 'big' words were used just to sound smarter, including the fact that there was pretty much no plot and then suddenly there were 10-15 pages of info dropping from whichever character Huxley thought of now pretty much;
Pretty much all the characters were as plain as white bread, as well as being either abandoned halfway through, having character arcs that led nowhere, and even actually out of character in their own book!!;
There was a particularly gross scene in my opinion that involved kids towards the beginning of the book, but it truly felt like it was just something shocking to further prove the point that "sex bad!!" and "look at all these deranged lunatics that are forcing people to be obsessed with sex"
Controversial take, but maybe sex isn't the worst thing in the world! And also maybe women aren't whores for sleeping with men, especially when it's normalised in their lives! And maybe, just maybe, making your pretty much only female character be a sort of villainess for her allure and promiscuity, making her akin to the devil and his temptations,,, might not be the best move
Quick caveat - why was the only example of people that strayed from 'civilization' were indigenous people that were "savages"?? Brother this isn't "Pocahontas" and also I am sure a lot more people would stray from the world order of the time, and they would be perfectly civilised, probably educated, as well as just living in peace, which BTW indigenous people themselves are also very capable of doing?? I just strongly disliked that part and something felt iffy, it's kind of like - if someone was making this same concept but with only black or asian people that were "uncivilised and off the rails" portrayed as crazy... I don't know it feels equally as weird
And no I am not gonna excuse the blatant, prevalent racism of the time, especially when it leads to poor writing and just a writing decision that made the overarching story more boring. Just thinking how much more interesting it would have been if the "savages" in the reserve were actually just people that realized the issues with their society and walked away from it without being uncivilized - as stated in the book! - not only would that make the characters rethink their own lives, as well as the system they live in, but that would put into perspective how much the reader would be willing to sacrifice for these primal parts of our lives like love, parenthood, just basic emotions, etc.
Oh yeah and don't get me started on the Christianity part like... I'm christian, don't get me wrong, but the fact that at the end of the book the conclusion was "Christianity = good, God = good"
I have a headache and am so happy to be finally done with this so in summary
Yet another proof that classics can also be pretty shitty, boring, and extremely overrated (IN MY OPINION)
*Personal PS
The first time I saw this guy I was crushing on he was reading this book and I just have this feeling that he was an absolute poser and he forgot his feminist literature and matcha latte at home (like blud who is bringing this book to the first day at uni when they obviously dont even open it once, but conveniently leave it on their desk the whole time)(and no don't ask me if I fell for it, that would be so stupid of me)(I did... I did fall for it)
I have said it before and I will say it again, just because you have a few good quotes and a kind of interesting world-building does NOT mean you have written a masterpiece
Sure, some of the commentary about our consumerist society is pretty spot on
But riddle me this... Whose side was this supposed to be on??
Sure the "civilization" was supposed to be this big bad evil and the "savage" was supposed to be the voice of good and reason, but don't forget that at the same time the "savage" was calling a woman a whore for being sexual out of wedlock... And the civilization was actually chill and actually no one was complaining and everyone was happy but it wasn't good to be happy and-
Yeah you get the point
And if that WAS the point actually, in which case, call me dumb, illiterate, whatever you want, it just wasn't executed well
The language was extremely repetitive, felt like 'big' words were used just to sound smarter, including the fact that there was pretty much no plot and then suddenly there were 10-15 pages of info dropping from whichever character Huxley thought of now pretty much;
Pretty much all the characters were as plain as white bread, as well as being either abandoned halfway through, having character arcs that led nowhere, and even actually out of character in their own book!!;
There was a particularly gross scene in my opinion that involved kids towards the beginning of the book, but it truly felt like it was just something shocking to further prove the point that "sex bad!!" and "look at all these deranged lunatics that are forcing people to be obsessed with sex"
Controversial take, but maybe sex isn't the worst thing in the world! And also maybe women aren't whores for sleeping with men, especially when it's normalised in their lives! And maybe, just maybe, making your pretty much only female character be a sort of villainess for her allure and promiscuity, making her akin to the devil and his temptations,,, might not be the best move
Quick caveat - why was the only example of people that strayed from 'civilization' were indigenous people that were "savages"?? Brother this isn't "Pocahontas" and also I am sure a lot more people would stray from the world order of the time, and they would be perfectly civilised, probably educated, as well as just living in peace, which BTW indigenous people themselves are also very capable of doing?? I just strongly disliked that part and something felt iffy, it's kind of like - if someone was making this same concept but with only black or asian people that were "uncivilised and off the rails" portrayed as crazy... I don't know it feels equally as weird
And no I am not gonna excuse the blatant, prevalent racism of the time, especially when it leads to poor writing and just a writing decision that made the overarching story more boring. Just thinking how much more interesting it would have been if the "savages" in the reserve were actually just people that realized the issues with their society and walked away from it without being uncivilized - as stated in the book! - not only would that make the characters rethink their own lives, as well as the system they live in, but that would put into perspective how much the reader would be willing to sacrifice for these primal parts of our lives like love, parenthood, just basic emotions, etc.
Oh yeah and don't get me started on the Christianity part like... I'm christian, don't get me wrong, but the fact that at the end of the book the conclusion was "Christianity = good, God = good"
I have a headache and am so happy to be finally done with this so in summary
Yet another proof that classics can also be pretty shitty, boring, and extremely overrated (IN MY OPINION)
*Personal PS
The first time I saw this guy I was crushing on he was reading this book and I just have this feeling that he was an absolute poser and he forgot his feminist literature and matcha latte at home (like blud who is bringing this book to the first day at uni when they obviously dont even open it once, but conveniently leave it on their desk the whole time)(and no don't ask me if I fell for it, that would be so stupid of me)(I did... I did fall for it)
slow-paced
Some books have a “best before” date and this, in my opinion, is one of them. I should have read the book when it came out. I’m sure I’d have been fascinated by it then. As it is, I’ve read so many better dystopian works, which were probably inspired byThe Brave New World but have surpassed it nonetheless, that this novel seemed but a rough draft by a not-so-skilled fiction writer.
I found the audiobook performance rather affected, although the reader succeeded in creating highly distinct voices for different characters, so it was very easy to follow three parallel dialogues without confusing the parties involved.
I found the audiobook performance rather affected, although the reader succeeded in creating highly distinct voices for different characters, so it was very easy to follow three parallel dialogues without confusing the parties involved.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
a really strong read to tide me through peak festive season 2024 - the new year of 2025. rated 75% enjoyed but I do know the value of the book on a wider less subjective scale, hence the 5*.
*FROM THE NOTION - HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD*
1st read (@24 December 2024 → 3 January 2025) ~ @28 December 2024 16:52 Huxley writes with a lot of simile & metaphor and I’m not sure how I feel about it. @ @3 January 2025 16:10 ~
Literally! Not! Good! Listen, I just didn’t like it.
The only moment of interest was the conversation between John and the controller.
Could’ve been an email, smh.
The only moment of interest was the conversation between John and the controller.
Could’ve been an email, smh.
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
a must read for all i think