A review by punktilious
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

challenging dark reflective tense medium-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

4.0

Brave New World is considered a classic and a must-read, and I agree that it is. It offers a fascinating perspective on a society where everyone is always happy. This makes me wonder: if they believe they're happy, should we view them as happy too? Or, are they people who need to be freed because they aren't truly happy according to our standards? Is a hedonistic society like this where your life is planned from birth a successful one? Brave New World offers many thought-provoking questions. Consider reading Brave New World if you're in the mood to think further about the text. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War

While I added many content warnings, they are essential to the nature of the book. The connotation of the content warnings may be interpreted differently when reading the book. For example, all people in the World State are perfectly healthy and young-looking: the "body shaming" tag is about one character's reaction to seeing someone who is not a citizen of the World State (and therefore ages regularly and looks different from what World State citizens are used to).