Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Brave New World

Brave New World. Aldous Huxley. Harper Perennial Modern Classics. 2006 (first published 1932). 259 pages. (Source: audio library book)

First sentence: A squat grey building of only thirty-four stories.

Plot: Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order--all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New World likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites. (Goodreads)

My thoughts: This book was way advanced for the year it was written.  What a wild imagination this author had!!  I did not particularly care for this one but I must give him that credit.

The idea is to show how the world could be controlled through medical advances.  Don't know if this author considered it a warning or not.  The State believes that if it controls the people and they have nothing to worry about then everyone is safe and happy.  Peace abounds.  Really it was a strange read.  Had a really bad ending in my opinion.  Don't know why I continue to try science fiction.   It promoted promiscuity over chastity.  Free living as apposed to the more "oppressed" life of marriage and family.


1 comment:

  1. I think this is a book that is/was on my list?? not sure. Strange reads are not what I'm looking for right now so I'll wait.

    ReplyDelete

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