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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's here! It's finally here! A society where everybody belongs to everybody else. You are able to sleep with anyone you want and not be judged for it. IN FACT, you are looked down upon if you are having sex with only one person for an extended period of time - I'm talking like two days in a row being an extended period of time.
Then there are thedrug soma addictions. God Ford forbid that people should have to feel anything unpleasant. Guilt, anger, resentment, sorrow? What use is there for such things? Why wouldn’t you want to feel high good all the time?
I can read between the lines of what this book is all about and will share it with you: |Whores and drugs galore!|
Sort of. But not quite. We are also going to wipe out God. And marriage. And mothers (hey, you didn’t want those stretch marks anyway, did you?)and fathers and families. We are going to be conditioned; we will hear what we are to think over and over and over and over during our waking hours and in our sleep. We will not be in danger of having a mental breakdown due to stress or a mid-life crisis for fear of aging and dying. We will have only the most pleasant surroundings – scents and sights that will not upset us will be present.
DOESN’T THIS SOUND WONDERFUL?!?!
No?
Would we rather be like John/Savage? Reciting only Shakespeare and turning down sexual advances from those we are attracted to? Praying to a God who may or may not answer while also believing in sacrifice and Native American rituals? Having temper tantrums and freak-outs because of our feelings?
Where do we draw the line in the extremes? Is the grass always greener? Can we really have it all?
This is not a book to breeze through. I wouldn’t say that it was a page turner or that I adored it, but I have to admit that it made me think. Unfortunately, there were also moments where I didn’t give a rat’s patootie about thinking and started to skim a bit.
Some things I liked:
The idea of knowledge. Having too much or too little. What is the right kind of knowledge? Linda can recite but cannot explain anything. The “savages” could not read (with the exception of John) the way the others could in the “Brave New World,” but they “knew” things through stories/fables.
Let it sink in for a moment– Not having the freedom to be as knowledgeable as you wish to be.
Being different. Being an outcast. It didn’t matter which “world” they were living in – if you were different, you were essentially alone.
Page 84ish. Bernard speaks of going to what I would compare to a modern day prayer group. They are falling all over themselves in the name of “Ford.” Bernard tries to get into the spirit but doesn’t feel anything. He wants something to happen. My point? When I was about sixteen-years-old, I joined a Christian teen group. I recall a silent prayer hour (well, more like fifteen minutes) where everyone seemed to have the spirit touching them. They were crying out and quite literally crying. I felt nothing and wondered what the heck was wrong with me that everyone else was being reached. Were they really? Maybe they were. And maybe they weren’t. But it was one of the more uncomfortable moments of my life, and a skeptic was born. I get it, Bernard. I get it.
And now comes the Grand Poobah.
THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1932.
1932
In 1933, Monopoly was invented, the chocolate chip cookie was invented, and the first drive in theatre was established.*
In 1935, Monopoly was released, the first canned beer went on sale, and Penguin produced the first paperback books.*
*Disclaimer: This is only what Google tells me.
ALDOUS HUXLEY WROTE OF THESE THINGS BEFORE THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE WAS INVENTED.
Consider my mind blown. Mr. Huxley, can I borrow the time machine you must have used?
Yes, I know that things aren’t quite as bad as what is in this book. The whole world isn’t in a drug-induced coma. We aren’t all sleeping with our neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor (and all those neighbors inbetween). But let’s not kid ourselves and say these aren’t problems that seem to increase year by year.
One more time.
1932
I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it.
(And I am definitely in the “I loved the ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ wayyyyyyy more” category)
But I will respect it.
I lied.
Now is really one more time…
1932
Then there are the
I can read between the lines of what this book is all about and will share it with you: |Whores and drugs galore!|
Sort of. But not quite. We are also going to wipe out God. And marriage. And mothers (hey, you didn’t want those stretch marks anyway, did you?)and fathers and families. We are going to be conditioned; we will hear what we are to think over and over and over and over during our waking hours and in our sleep. We will not be in danger of having a mental breakdown due to stress or a mid-life crisis for fear of aging and dying. We will have only the most pleasant surroundings – scents and sights that will not upset us will be present.
DOESN’T THIS SOUND WONDERFUL?!?!
No?
Would we rather be like John/Savage? Reciting only Shakespeare and turning down sexual advances from those we are attracted to? Praying to a God who may or may not answer while also believing in sacrifice and Native American rituals? Having temper tantrums and freak-outs because of our feelings?
Where do we draw the line in the extremes? Is the grass always greener? Can we really have it all?
This is not a book to breeze through. I wouldn’t say that it was a page turner or that I adored it, but I have to admit that it made me think. Unfortunately, there were also moments where I didn’t give a rat’s patootie about thinking and started to skim a bit.
Some things I liked:
The idea of knowledge. Having too much or too little. What is the right kind of knowledge? Linda can recite but cannot explain anything. The “savages” could not read (with the exception of John) the way the others could in the “Brave New World,” but they “knew” things through stories/fables.
Let it sink in for a moment– Not having the freedom to be as knowledgeable as you wish to be.
Being different. Being an outcast. It didn’t matter which “world” they were living in – if you were different, you were essentially alone.
Page 84ish. Bernard speaks of going to what I would compare to a modern day prayer group. They are falling all over themselves in the name of “Ford.” Bernard tries to get into the spirit but doesn’t feel anything. He wants something to happen. My point? When I was about sixteen-years-old, I joined a Christian teen group. I recall a silent prayer hour (well, more like fifteen minutes) where everyone seemed to have the spirit touching them. They were crying out and quite literally crying. I felt nothing and wondered what the heck was wrong with me that everyone else was being reached. Were they really? Maybe they were. And maybe they weren’t. But it was one of the more uncomfortable moments of my life, and a skeptic was born. I get it, Bernard. I get it.
And now comes the Grand Poobah.
THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN 1932.
1932
In 1933, Monopoly was invented, the chocolate chip cookie was invented, and the first drive in theatre was established.*
In 1935, Monopoly was released, the first canned beer went on sale, and Penguin produced the first paperback books.*
*Disclaimer: This is only what Google tells me.
ALDOUS HUXLEY WROTE OF THESE THINGS BEFORE THE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE WAS INVENTED.
Consider my mind blown. Mr. Huxley, can I borrow the time machine you must have used?
Yes, I know that things aren’t quite as bad as what is in this book. The whole world isn’t in a drug-induced coma. We aren’t all sleeping with our neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor’s neighbor (and all those neighbors inbetween). But let’s not kid ourselves and say these aren’t problems that seem to increase year by year.
One more time.
1932
I didn’t love it. I didn’t hate it.
(And I am definitely in the “I loved the ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ wayyyyyyy more” category)
But I will respect it.
I lied.
Now is really one more time…
1932
So unfair to compare this to 1984 when this is so much better :(
I read this with my book club and wow I’m so so shocked that I haven’t read this sooner. This was such a cool read! I loved the look at sexuality and sensuality within societies. Please read!
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Honestly, I wanted to like Brave New World better than I did. The first part of the book had me so excited for what was to come— I loved the writing, I loved the underlying philosophy— but the book never delivered what I had expected it to deliver on. Now, I understand that Brave New World is a classic and I 100% understand why. Huxley is able to create a world that is convincing and compelling and his argument on the future of society is a distressingly realistic one. There is great merit in studying Huxley’s novel (e.g., Amusing Ourselves to Death). However, Brave New World is—ultimately—a story about unlikeable characters and I am not a person who enjoys reading about characters I simply don’t like.
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes