Honestly, this wasn't my favorite sci-fi read ever. I thought it raised good questions and had a pretty solid plot, but it was pretty slow and I didn't really connect with the characters. Overall, I was a bit disappointed (because I've been wanting to read it for a while), but I am still thinking about it a few weeks later.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is a dark, eerie dystopian novel about Huxley's grim outlook on what he believes the future will eventually lead to. The book follows the futuristic caste system Huxley envisions where people have no value in society and everything is artificial. The novel is a great read for people who want to learn more about Huxley's theories, but the novel contains mature themes and hard to grasp concepts. I would recommend 16+ for the age demographic of this novel.

The seven-part recitative in one of the early chapters, wow.

I have a hard time getting to the point where the book starts. I don't believe society could get to this point--like it is impossible. But if you assume it did, then it creates an interesting world with extremes to make going points about society and how we love distractions. The actual plot is boring, but again, the world creating is interesting.

Book was written in 1932 so much of the futuristic science-fiction details are a little hokey now, nonetheless the spirit of the book is intriguing, and if I were to reread any part of the book it would have to be the last three chapters especially the third chapter from the end. Main characters; Bernard Marx, his friend Helmholtz Watson, John (Savage) and his mother Linda, Lenina Crowe, and deputy world leader Mustafa Mond, and world full of alphas betas, deltas, epsilons and gammas with the government regime operating “a perfect utopia” with lots of soma (the soothing drug). Feels like something of the order China today is inching slowly toward. Bernard and Helmholtz ultimately reject the society even though they are alpha pluses and are exiled to far away islands, Linda dies of medical issues, her son John hangs himself In an ultimate rejection of the society and Mustafa, he understands fully and excepts the society.

Stories about dystopian societies can often evoke new realizations in regards to our perspective of the world around us. The novel Brave New World by Alduous Huxley allows readers to do exactly that as it examines life in a futuristic society obsessively based on production. They revere Henry Ford’s invention of the assembly line, and model their entire society around that, including how children are born. The society then divides the children into a hierarchy before birth, and the story opens with Alpha Bernard Marx and his love interest, Lenina Crowne. They are sent on a mission to a “savage reserve,” where they find a young man (John) who proclaims to be the director of the society’s son. As John is exposed to this new civilization, he realizes its corruption and horrifying nature.

This novel is one considered to be a classic, even though the premise of it seems like many of the young adult novels today. It covers one important theme that I believe is extremely relevant to the modern era: the hindrances of hedonism. It explores the negative impact of only seeking pleasure in life, as well as a society without families, love, or ownership. It is thought-provoking and a bit ominous in looking towards the future. It has some crossover with George Orwell’s 1984, for both contain themes of a dystopian future.

It is not appropriate for a younger audience, as it contains rather mature themes including nudity and self-harm. As a matter of fact, it was banned by many schools initially. However, many high schools are beginning to incorporate it into their curriculum.

Age rating: 16+
Star rating: 5 stars

A world that is engineered for perfection needs a contrasting element to really seem perfect. The contrasts are sometimes sharp and sometimes subtle but they are always present. Like Shakespeare's play The Tempest which provides the title Brave New World, this novel has it's own Prospero and its Caliban.

This book legitimately blew my mind. Huxley did a fantastic job creating a futuristic world where the reader feels familiar yet uncomfortable at the same time; for me, that especially impacted my view of the characters. Definitely for more mature audiences (16+).

Hypnotic and dizzying. A dystopia to rival Orwell's 1984.

Prophetic.