Reviews

Brave New World: A BBC Radio 4 Full-Cast Dramatisation, by Aldous Huxley

merrymitch's review against another edition

Definitely not in the right mood for this book.

katherine_ols's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lizzieh96's review against another edition

2.0

Interesting concepts, but I had to force myself through most of it. I really only kept reading because of my love for John.

rekadnug's review against another edition

3.0

I didn't hate it, but I didn't enjoy it either. It has not aged well, and not in a quaint Gone With the Wind sort. I can see how it has led the way for different Science Fiction works, and it is surprisingly good SciFi for 1930's. The story is just a bit muddy, and the characters aren't deep, and the racism and lack of diversity appreciation is a sign of the time it was written.

saj_81's review against another edition

4.0

Bleak is probably the best way to describe Brave New World. Absolutely nothing uplifting about this novel. Yet it somehow manages to be thought-provoking instead of just depressing. Looking at our world through the eyes of these characters (both the English ones and the Savage) is a very healthy exercise. Is complete, blissfull happiness really the best thing that can happen to a person? Or a society?

As a side note, I found all the Ford stuff hilarious! YWFA!

brittfol's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

realfemshady's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

eparise's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

hannibal's review against another edition

I lost it😭

cherrykois's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

‘Brave New world’ is a classic dystopian novel that takes place in this totalitarian world, where people are born artificially and conditioned from even before they are born. There’s a strong commentary on consumerism, and how that and drugs keep everyone happy but controlled in this world. This part of the novel, and this type of critique was very well made, and the world building was quite interesting. Although, as it often happens, the world building was stronger than the rest of the story, I wasn’t really invested in the characters, there was not much depth to be found in any of them. 

 

I found it quite interesting to see how certain things that were definitely perceived as dystopian in the early 1930s, when the book was published, have changed with time. To emphasize the dystopian aspect this society has no religion and is very sexually free. People are not supposed to fall in love or have a family but they are very much pushed into having a rather unusual sexual life, which was giving “science only, relationships/ emotions never”. In a lot of scenes you can tell the author was using this sexual liberty of the characters, and lack of “religious moral” as a way to tell the reader this world is bad. 

 

All in all, it's basically cool dystopian vibes with a splash of period-appropriate misogyny. I love the way Huxley leaves you confused about what's good and if this society is truly as messed up as it seems.