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linguistictabby's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicide
avaaaagod's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
It was definately a really interesting concept and I love the plot and the comments on society it makes.
There were a few flaws of course in the plot and the writing. However it was really good. I enjoyed it a lot; it didn’t feel too long, there were lots of interesting philosophical thoughts on life and happiness and good explanations of them.
So overall a great book.
There were a few flaws of course in the plot and the writing. However it was really good. I enjoyed it a lot; it didn’t feel too long, there were lots of interesting philosophical thoughts on life and happiness and good explanations of them.
So overall a great book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm and Suicide
kseckc's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A deeply disconcerting dystopian novel.
'Civilisation' has eschewed the natural processes of procreation, and dismisses anything that could lead to dissent. People are conditioned from embryo onwards to be content with their lot in life, and drugged with soma even if they aren't. When you've removed everything that makes you human, are you still human? What makes someone human? Who gets to decide what is civilised behviour and what isn't?
I don't think you're meant to like any of the characters in this novel (at any rate, I didn't) but perhaps that was the point.
I'd probably say it was soft sci-fi with what looks like some attempt at scientific explanation based on the knowledge of the time, especially with regards to the genetic engineering portion of the the novel.
This was an unsettling read and despite being a relatively short book, it took a while to read and get through. It was very intriguing though, and I would recommend if you have the headspace and time to consider this novel as a way to think about its differences and similarities to our current society. Even though it was written almost a century ago, it maintains relevance with its insight into human nature and one final question that seems to sum up the novel: is ignorance really bliss?
'Civilisation' has eschewed the natural processes of procreation, and dismisses anything that could lead to dissent. People are conditioned from embryo onwards to be content with their lot in life, and drugged with soma even if they aren't. When you've removed everything that makes you human, are you still human? What makes someone human? Who gets to decide what is civilised behviour and what isn't?
I don't think you're meant to like any of the characters in this novel (at any rate, I didn't) but perhaps that was the point.
I'd probably say it was soft sci-fi with what looks like some attempt at scientific explanation based on the knowledge of the time, especially with regards to the genetic engineering portion of the the novel.
This was an unsettling read and despite being a relatively short book, it took a while to read and get through. It was very intriguing though, and I would recommend if you have the headspace and time to consider this novel as a way to think about its differences and similarities to our current society. Even though it was written almost a century ago, it maintains relevance with its insight into human nature and one final question that seems to sum up the novel: is ignorance really bliss?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Hmmm, hmmmm, im not sure i can communicate my feelings, perhaps an interpretive dance would be better
<<SPOILERS>>
No wait i wish we had some from iceland after he gets sent there?? Oh and also i hate it when books reference Shakespeare, it high key makes me quale with anger and idk why xx
<<SPOILERS>>
No wait i wish we had some from iceland after he gets sent there?? Oh and also i hate it when books reference Shakespeare, it high key makes me quale with anger and idk why xx
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
ellemwan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Racism
Moderate: Body shaming, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion
jamallesen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Racism, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Slavery, Grief, and Sexual harassment
rosalind's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Pinched this quote from Neil Postman (with thanks to another reviewer who shared it here first!) - am copying it here for the purposes of my own reading journal. ‘What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egoism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Huxley added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.’ I certainly find the world Huxley so daringly and presciently imagined in the 1930s to be chillingly plausible, even recognisable. With that knowledge, I’m now going to go sit and stare blankly at a wall for a while and wonder whether I should rethink my decision to have kids. Fun book lol would recommend to fellow sadists lmfao xoxonebubabe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
i would have given a 4 star if not for the (in my opinion ofc) weak ending. i quite enjoyed this book and it gave me a lot to think about until the final chapter. i understand why it had to end the way it did but it almost felt like it was written by someone else. it was abrupt and unsatisfying. now i'm left with a sour taste in my mouth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, and Colonisation
Minor: Abortion
bluejayreads's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.5
I was not entirely sure what to think about this book after finishing it. Despite Aldous Huxley only being 37 when he wrote it, it has a very strong "old man fears societal change and scientific advancement" vibe. I had hoped there was a #disrupttexts discussion about it so I could get some other perspectives, but I can't find one. So I'm left to interpret it on my own. This review may get long.
In the World State, babies are no longer born out of human wombs. Instead, they are grown in test tubes, selected and genetically manipulated from even before the moment a sperm hits an egg in a fertilization tank, and conditioned until age twelve, all in the interest of producing a strictly class-stratified society where each person is genetically manipulated and mentally conditioned to not only accept but love their lot in life. Alphas are the prettiest, tallest, smartest, and one-of-a-kind, and lowly Gammas and Epsilons are conditioned to hate knowledge and beauty and are only one of up to ninety-six genetically identicial people. Excessive consumption is practically law, leisure is mainly sports that require lots of expensive equipment, free sex without commitment is the relationship model, and if you start having negative thoughts, the drug soma will make you feel good again.
In the beginning, the book bounces through a bunch of different characters in the effort of illustrating how the world works. It eventually settles on Bernard Marx as something of a main character. Bernard is very much a misfit in his world - he is much shorter than people of his class (Alpha, the highest) are supposed to be, and he likes solitude and monogamy and doesn't like sports or soma, all of which are considered practically pathological in World State society. But he does desperately want to be accepted and be considered normal.
So when John shows up about halfway through the book, it almost immediately pivots to him as the main character. John is the natural-born son of a woman from the World State who got lost and trapped on a "Savage Reservation." John was born and grew up there, a world where people age, babies come from wombs, honor and suffering are important parts of life, and consumption isn't an option. He is the outsider that challenges the societal norms of the World State because he finds a challenge-free life of uninspired contentment and free sex without romance completely intolerable.
John is portrayed as the "noble savage" (despite being 100% white), the only person in the whole of society who prefers a life with challenge to a life without, who understands that heterosexual monogamous marriage is the only correct sexual arragement, who knows and follows the traditions of past great men, who finds the honor in devotion to religion and its rituals, and who accepts unhappiness as part of the human condition. Bernard likes solitude and doesn't like drugs, but it's implies that he doesn't go far enough. Tradition is better than progress, the book seems to say. Natural things are better than whatever science can come up with, loose women will destory male-female interaction altogether, old works are better than new, letting scientific discoveries and societal advancement keep us from being unhappy is actually a very bad thing. Practically the only thing I agree with this book about is that strictly stratified societies consigning people to a particular caste even before their birth and giving no opportunity for individual choice are a bad thing.
This is a very complex book, and I know there's more to be said about it than what I'm saying here. There's definitely some notes to be made about race, gender, queerness, and religion that I just don't have room for since this review is already so long. I would love to see the people at #disrupttexts put out something on Brave New World with an English teacher's analysis on what this book is trying to say. Despite my mostly-negative-but-still-technically-mixed feelings on the morals here, it actually is an interesting dystopian world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Self harm and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, and Suicide
laurendenton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, Infertility, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment