Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
Published on September 1st 1998
Harper Perennial, 268 pages
Far in the future, the World Controllers have created the ideal society. Through clever use of genetic engineering, brainwashing and recreational sex and drugs, all its members are happy consumers. Bernard Marx seems alone harbouring an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations, where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress...
Huxley's ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterpiece.
- Goodreads.com description
Huxley's ingenious fantasy of the future sheds a blazing light on the present and is considered to be his most enduring masterpiece.
- Goodreads.com description
What on earth did I just read?
I've been meaning to read this book for a couple of years now. And I finally did. They said it was an amazing dystopia and it holds revelations about about society and the world and I don't know what else. But I don't get it.
The beginning was awful. The first part felt like a lecture about fertilization and the growth of the embryo. And then the writing! With the tree different scenarios running through each sentence over and over again. Confusing is putting it lightly. What on earth?
The middle part was good though. There was an actual story with actual events happening. We see Bernard and Lenina going to the savage reservation and see how life is like without all the conditioning.
But the ending? Confusing again. I didn't get it.
The whole idea that 'everyone belongs to everyone'. Well, it was disturbing. Horrible even. No love, no real connection.. And the soma, oh god. The perfect legal drug to be happy and clueless for forever. The Savage John was right to point it out - it was just too easy. And the whole concept of happiness - everyone is happy. Jesus, that felt absurd.
We all strive to be happy, but reading about Lenina and how she reacted to things.. Holy shit, it was all shades of wrong. Kinda makes you want to shake her, hard. What is wrong with these people? What is wrong with this society to want to make people clueless and strip them of all the choices?
And there was another thing running through my mind while reading this book. Why is the book a classic? What makes this book a classic? What makes this book a masterpiece? What makes this book more special than let's say Legend, Slated, Breathe, or Article 5?
I am not going to rate this book, cause that would be ludicrous. Plus, I have no idea how to rate it. So, I will leave it at that.
Edited.
Okay. After talking about it with my best friend, I think I get it now. I cannot believe I didn't see it. All the values in this book are the complete opposite of ours. No one love and marriage, but everyone can have everyone. There are no Mother and Father, they are actually forbidden words to use. Death is a happy occurrence, not a sad and horrible thing. Instead of doing what is right and keep fighting to make life a better place, there is soma - a drug that makes you happy and not deal with things when you should be dealing with those things. Noone grows old, everyone is just young forever.
And our Savage John guy is the representation of what would happen if any of us would be thrown into a "bizarre" society like the one in Brave new world.
But I would like to point something out here. Maybe I was wrong, and Brave new world's society is not anymore that far off. I mean, aren't we supposed today so just blinding accent everyone? God forbids we think something bad about someone different, or even, *gasp* that we judge anyone. And the TV and smart phone, at which we just keep staring all the time, typing and typing and missing out the real connection with people and the world in general. How most of today's generation just wants to use people, instead of committing to one person, because commitment is so scary. And prozac and legalizations of some drugs, so we don't have to deal with issues when they occur. How it's all about excessive self-indulgence and instant self-gratification, instead of connecting with others, contributing to others and society to be a better place to be.
Edited.
Okay. After talking about it with my best friend, I think I get it now. I cannot believe I didn't see it. All the values in this book are the complete opposite of ours. No one love and marriage, but everyone can have everyone. There are no Mother and Father, they are actually forbidden words to use. Death is a happy occurrence, not a sad and horrible thing. Instead of doing what is right and keep fighting to make life a better place, there is soma - a drug that makes you happy and not deal with things when you should be dealing with those things. Noone grows old, everyone is just young forever.
And our Savage John guy is the representation of what would happen if any of us would be thrown into a "bizarre" society like the one in Brave new world.
But I would like to point something out here. Maybe I was wrong, and Brave new world's society is not anymore that far off. I mean, aren't we supposed today so just blinding accent everyone? God forbids we think something bad about someone different, or even, *gasp* that we judge anyone. And the TV and smart phone, at which we just keep staring all the time, typing and typing and missing out the real connection with people and the world in general. How most of today's generation just wants to use people, instead of committing to one person, because commitment is so scary. And prozac and legalizations of some drugs, so we don't have to deal with issues when they occur. How it's all about excessive self-indulgence and instant self-gratification, instead of connecting with others, contributing to others and society to be a better place to be.
