Brave New World (P.S.) Review
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i read Brave New World in high school and it is one of the few books that i specifically remember disliking, probably due to the fact that the teacher and i consistently butted heads. so, in an attempt to give the book a fair second chance, i eagerly picked it up for the February installment of the English 101 Classics Challenge at The Olive Reader. i actually surprised myself and read it in a day and a half, which for me, means that it was at least half decent.
if you’ve never read BNW, then i would really suggest giving it a read. it just seems to be one of those few books out there that comes with a societal obligation to read it, and re-read it. it’s not that its the best book i’ve ever read, but rather that it is a very applicable book, one that speaks volumes about humanity and the impact of technology on such things as art, free will, and ethics. although i don’t really remember much about my first read-through, i’m certain that the takeaway from 10+ years ago to today was vastly different. as the world evolves, so will the parallels of a book such as this. much like 1984 by George Orwell (which i should also re-read someday soon), BNW is truly a timeless classic.
the storyline is simple, following a few workers from The Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, a human hatchery, where embryos are developed, conditioned and ultimately brought up to be ideal citizens of various “castes”. Alphas are all genetically unique and are naturally the most intelligent, highest functioning individuals, whereas Epsilons are replicated by the hundreds and stunted in their growth and development to mindlessly, happily even, fulfill the more mundane needs of society.
“Alphas can be completely socialized – but only on condition that you make them do Alpha work. Only an Epsilon can be expected to make Epsilon sacrifices, for the good reason that for him they aren’t sacrifices; they’re the line of least resistance. His conditioning has laid down rails along which he’s got to run.”
through the various workers, we learn the cultural standards of this futuristic world where there are no mothers or fathers, no marriages or boredom, and therefore no apparent sadness. this `future’ that Huxley constructed back in the 1930’s is really not all that far off from where we are today, which makes the few extremes a little too realistic for comfort. for this reason, i now understand why this is so popularly taught in schools. i wish i’d gotten more out of it the first time, but i’m very grateful for the re-read.
i think my favorite part of the book is all of the various hypnopædic messages, such as “Progress is lovely”, which was received by a child for “five hundred repetitions once a week from thirteen to seventeen”. some were absolutely hilarious and added a haunting reality to the power of subliminal messaging. and, naturally, the plot develops as some of the characters begin to question these universally accepted messages.
‘He laughed, “Yes, `Everybody’s happy nowadays.’ We begin giving the children that at five. But wouldn’t you like to be free to be happy in some other way, Lenina? In your own way, for example; not in everybody else’s way.”‘
all in all, this is and will probably always be a very good book, well written and constructed. the characters are entertaining and there is a lot of gratuitous sexual content (although non-graphic) and drug usage, which is not surprisingly the only thing i actually remember from my earlier read. my only real complaint is that there are some lulls in the flow of the writing, particularly toward the end where it feels as though Huxley brings the various themes together in a stumbling sort of manner to the conclusion. but, that aside, i enjoyed the reading and would definitely recommend it to everyone.
Brave New World (P.S.) Feature
- ISBN13: 9780061767647
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Brave New World (P.S.) Overview
The astonishing novel Brave New World, originally published in 1932, presents Aldous Huxley’s legendary vision of a world of tomorrow utterly transformed. In Huxley’s darkly satiric yet chillingly prescient imagining of a “utopian”
future, humans are genetically designed and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant to this day as both a warning to be heeded and as a thought-provoking yet satisfying entertainment.
This deluxe edition also includes the nonfiction work “Brave New World Revisited,” “a thought-jabbing, terrifying book” (Chicago Tribune), first published in 1958. It is a fascinating essay in which Huxley compares the modern-day world with his prophetic fantasy envisioned in Brave New World. He scrutinizes threats to humanity such as overpopulation, propaganda, and chemical persuasion, and explains why we have found it virtually impossible to avoid them.
With a Foreword by Christopher Hitchens
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