Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

24 reviews

blake_bitch's review against another edition

The sexism just amped up so fast, and the racism was physically painful. I hope there is a rewriting of this by a POC so I can actually stand to finish this, which has its merits other than the wildly problematic depictions of women and POCs. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

growintogardens's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

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

2.0

Well... that was something. It's an interesting premise, but I didn't like it or think it was a particularly good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

ellwell's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

dexterovna's review

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.5

This book starts as a satirical look at a "utopia" where in women and men have sex regularly, a caste system is thoroughly enforced with subliminal messaging, drug use is regular and encouraged, and to be different is to be a Problem. Everything you would expect a book written in its time to consider bad and evil.

And then it turns into a disjointed novel about an indigenous man wrestling with this supposed utopia hes only heard about and the love of a woman who has fully subscribed to it and a man who was born into this world, critiques it with every fiber of his being, only to in the end cowar at the idea of anything different.

Aside from the all to vasual rascism, both inside the narrative/characters and the author himself, this book is hard to read because it follows no discernable plot atructure. It is interesting for its world building, but it seems to build up all of these Bad Plot Beats to end in just...one Bad Plot Beat. Its obviously trying to say "Hey lets not make the world like this one" but at what cost to my nrrative intrigue?

The chatacters barely change, there is a Ton of monologuing and proselytizing, and the story is just sad. Im sure for its time it was an incredible book, full of new concepts and conversations. But for today, it reads like a much too long high school novel in its first draft. The saving grace is the interesting world building itself and the knowledge that this book is a blueprint for the dystopian genere as we know it today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism

bethan_grace's review against another edition

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

rochelleisreading's review against another edition

challenging dark funny medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation

dalek_caan's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

3.5

This book was not at all what I expected, but it was worth reading. To me the historical context is particularly interesting, to see what Huxley imagined to warn future generations of what not to become. While the message of the book seemed somewhat unclear to me, I found some of the philosophical elements to be interesting to entertain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Xenophobia

yellow_star's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

This was terrifying to me, I think I read it too young. (No one forced me to read it, I borrowed an older kid's assigned reading) 

The little boy getting in trouble for not wanting to have child sex, as a preteen child myself at the time I read this, was deeply disturbing. I'd caution you to recommend  this only to older teens (though of course if they choose to read this themselves that's another matter as smart kids will drop it if it becomes too much.)

Of course this is still unsettling to older readers, but it shouldn't be traumatizing to most people 15+. The unsettled feeling instead should make you consider government control of a population and how much is too much, and if you think a little creatively you can apply the novel to make connections of companies and governments and stalker peers spying on you and trying to control you in the modern era. 

The book just isn't for me because I was too upset by that first reading. If you can't emotionally get through political commentary dystopia books then this probabl  isn't a great fit. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, and Forced institutionalization

gabriella_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

That was when science first began to be controlled—after the Nine Years’ War. People were ready to have even their appetites controlled then. Anything for a quiet life. We’ve gone on controlling ever since. It hasn’t been very good for truth, of course. But it’s been very good for happiness. One can’t have something for nothing. Happiness has got to be paid for. You’re paying for it, Mr. Watson—paying because you happen to be too much interested in beauty. I was too much interested in truth; I paid too.

What an interesting read. Thematically, there’s a lot to dissect but I don’t really have the energy to get into it. The final two chapters were a mindfuck. This is burdened by knowledge: the book.

There was a silence. In spite of their sadness—because of it, even; for their sadness was the symptom of their love for one another—the three young men were happy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation