Brave New World

by Aldous Huxley

Review of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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         Brave New World takes place in a seemingly utopian future where everyone is happy.  Or rather, they have the illusion of happiness.  People are no longer born, they are grown through genetic engineering.  They are engineered to be in one of five social classes, labeled from Alpha to Epsilon.  Based on this, their traits and life work are predetermined for the, by scientists.  They are fed repeated messages in their sleep, a process called conditioning, in order to turn their thinking into whatever the ruling order wants it to be.  They are taught to live dissolute lives where their own happiness is all that matters.  Their lives are based almost entirely upon sex, and the world runs on the policy "Everyone belongs to everyone else."  They are kept in the prime of their youth for 60 years or so, then quietly euthanized.  The story begins by focusing on an Alpha-Plus named Bernard.  At first, his contrary views make it seem as though he will be the hero of the story.  But as the book progresses, his status as the main character is slowly shifted over to John "Savage", a youth who is brought out of the wild tribes and into civilization by Bernard.  As Bernard slowly experiences his downfall, it then becomes probably that John will be the hero.  But in the end, there are no heroes.  And that, I believe, is the main point of the book.  In a world where there is no free will, how can one really choose to be a hero?  Contrary to belief, right does not always win.  And the scariest part of that is "right" can often be a very relative term.  In the end, the good things int he world are often stamped out by the bad, because humans, as we've all seen, have that very unique talent of destroying what is good in our world.  This was a very high-philosophy book, maybe not on the surface, but if one looks closer, it is very evident.  The plot is occasionally rushed and off-balance, but the message still stands strong throughout.  Brave New World, like 1984, provides a very real warning for our future.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Count Orad

         There are few books out there that truly capture your attention from the beginning to the end. Brave New World is one of them. It has it all: drugs, sex, science fiction, wonderful writing, vision, creativity.. need I say more? I recommend this book to anyone with a thought provoking mind or just interested in reading. It also a nice compliment to George Orwell's 1984. Its great to see how 2 exceptional authors believe the future would become.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Jake

         My favorite book of all time, it's incredibly enlightening, yet very entertaining to read. Aldous huxley's writing is very powerful and you can't help but dwell on the grim picture he paints for hours on end.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Ian

         its a really entertaining story of a dystopian future....its an idea many of us are not used to...a really great vision of aldous huxley.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by tito

         A disturbing yet utterly compelling read by one of the 20th century's most gifted visionaries. Both it and the follow-up, Brave New World Revisited, should be required reading for every English literature course.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Paul B.

         A brilliant novel of a dystopian society where books don't need to be burned, because noone wants to read them. The best book that I have read to date!

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Dan the Man

        Brave New World is one book on every top 100 list that everyone - young, old, smart, stupid - can thoroughly enjoy. It's got social commentary, science fiction, and is a joy to read. It's also not as long as something along the lines of Karamazov or Atlas Shrugged.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley was reviewed by Derek

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