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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
medium-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:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-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
**
I'm apparently incapable at the moment of writing anything even vaguely fucking intelligent but I'm tired of waiting to log this so I'll just do so now and say that it's absolutely fantastic and I wish I'd read it as a teenager. I loved 1984 back then so no idea why I didn't get round to this.
my memory of 1984 is that while it's brilliant, it's fairly black & white, with a blatantly violent oppressive state vs the oppressed victim citizens...one of the things I love about Brave New World, aside from Huxley's deliciously sardonic deadpan, is the ambivalence, the sense that it's a novel of questions and unerringly accurate prophecies but not of answers. Unlike Orwell's fiction, which I adore but essentially boils down to 'totalitarianism = bad', Brave New World feels slippery, open to varying interpretation, and changeable, capable of reading very differently each time you revisit it.
another quick observation; I'm usually of the opinion that novels that engage in heavy allegory, have a big important socio-political argument, revolve around philosophical ideas of utopia & dystopia etc. etc. would be better off as non-fiction essays if the author isn't capable of writing good characters. there's absolutely no point writing a novel if your ideas can be communicated just as well through an essay; and aside from the odd rare exception, *character* is usually the crucial difference. if you can write characters well, make them three-dimensional and real and endlessly intriguing, you can communicate ideas and feelings that non-fiction can barely even grasp at.
Huxley's characters are brilliantly drawn; authentic and funny and surprising and relatable, most of them extremely endearing yet quite pathetic. It's a small miracle that Lenina is approached with empathy and curiosity rather than just being a walking bimbo-punchline, and Bernard is fucking hilarious; possessing enough intelligence and beautifully stubborn individuality to understand that his society is fucked and he's too good for it, but not enough self-control to remember his principles once he starts finally getting good pussy for the first time in his life.
I plan to re-read 1984 soon, and Neil Postman's 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. One day I'll get round to reading the rest of Huxley's stuff too, and I'm sure I'll re-read 'Brave New World' at least a couple of times.
I'm apparently incapable at the moment of writing anything even vaguely fucking intelligent but I'm tired of waiting to log this so I'll just do so now and say that it's absolutely fantastic and I wish I'd read it as a teenager. I loved 1984 back then so no idea why I didn't get round to this.
my memory of 1984 is that while it's brilliant, it's fairly black & white, with a blatantly violent oppressive state vs the oppressed victim citizens...one of the things I love about Brave New World, aside from Huxley's deliciously sardonic deadpan, is the ambivalence, the sense that it's a novel of questions and unerringly accurate prophecies but not of answers. Unlike Orwell's fiction, which I adore but essentially boils down to 'totalitarianism = bad', Brave New World feels slippery, open to varying interpretation, and changeable, capable of reading very differently each time you revisit it.
another quick observation; I'm usually of the opinion that novels that engage in heavy allegory, have a big important socio-political argument, revolve around philosophical ideas of utopia & dystopia etc. etc. would be better off as non-fiction essays if the author isn't capable of writing good characters. there's absolutely no point writing a novel if your ideas can be communicated just as well through an essay; and aside from the odd rare exception, *character* is usually the crucial difference. if you can write characters well, make them three-dimensional and real and endlessly intriguing, you can communicate ideas and feelings that non-fiction can barely even grasp at.
Huxley's characters are brilliantly drawn; authentic and funny and surprising and relatable, most of them extremely endearing yet quite pathetic. It's a small miracle that Lenina is approached with empathy and curiosity rather than just being a walking bimbo-punchline, and Bernard is fucking hilarious; possessing enough intelligence and beautifully stubborn individuality to understand that his society is fucked and he's too good for it, but not enough self-control to remember his principles once he starts finally getting good pussy for the first time in his life.
I plan to re-read 1984 soon, and Neil Postman's 'Amusing Ourselves to Death'. One day I'll get round to reading the rest of Huxley's stuff too, and I'm sure I'll re-read 'Brave New World' at least a couple of times.
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is the fourth time I've tried to start this book over the past two years and I got 2/3 of the way and it's a DNF for me :(