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mayze's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
blake_bitch's review against another edition
Graphic: Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
dexterovna's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- 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
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
cursed_sapphire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The characters are interesting but not likeable, I recommend knowing that going in. This book is an exploration of a potential future built on consumption, sameness, and constant pleasure. The characters are meant to embody different parts of humanity/society. Bernard is only content if he's more special than everyone else, Lenina wants more monogomy than is normal but otherwise accepts everything, Helmholtz is just kinda bored and wants to be a tortured poet, etc. John is supposed to be the last real person, representing a true believer in religion and art which cannot survive in this society. Mind you, John is a very 1930's Christian ideal of a true, good person. And while his obsession with suffering for his sins serves as a counter to the painless society of the book, it came across a bit overzealous for me. It felt like Huxley was trying to make John suffer all the pain everyone else never had to, but that made him feel a little too obsessed with pain instead of the virtues he claims to care about. The same could also be said about his obsession with chastity.
This is a book more focused on ideas than on characters. The plot is a bit sparse, but that leads to a slice-of-life feeling, where the day-to-day life is the focus. There's a certain horror in the mundaneness that the characters experience, and that brings out the themes in a different, but still very effective way.
Overall I recommend this for anyone who likes the philosophical side of sci-fi/dystopia, as long as they are able to handle the old-fashioned lense.
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Suicide
Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
alreinwarth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Antisemitism, and Abortion
isarza's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
Si los humanos son creados in vitro entonces ¿para qué incentivar las relaciones sexuales si no hay un fin reproductivo?
Si es mundo científicamente avanzado con humanos genéricamente modificados ¿por qué no crearlos estériles?
Dicen que condicionan a los niños a ver a la muerte como un proceso fisiológico natural pero le tienen terror a envejecer cosa que también es un proceso fisiológico natural.
Si erradicaron las enfermedades y preservan el cuerpo humano igual a partir de los 30 años ¿cómo puede existir la muerte como algo natural?
El libro comienza con Bernard como personaje principal, como si fuera una persona que piensa por sí sólo al contrario de los demás personajes pero al final no era más que un egoísta y un cobarde y no lo vemos más como protagonista a partir de que llega John. Que perdida de tiempo leer sobre Bernard si al final ni siquiera iba a ser el personaje principal.
El libro tiene claros comentarios racistas y quiere poner a la religión y a dios como lo verdadero y a la ciencia como algo malo y peligroso que te adoctrina. ¿La religión no adoctrina?
John también es un personaje por el que siento cero empatía e interés.
Al final, este libro fue una gran desilusión. Mal contado, personajes odiosos y mal desarrollados porque hasta un personaje con el que no estés de acuerdo puede ser disfrutable si está bien escrito.
Finales ambiguos. ¿Entonces para qué sirvieron estas 200 y tantas páginas?
Perdida de tiempo.
Graphic: Racism and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, and Suicide
emersonseyeball's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Murder, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Pregnancy
summerb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jenna_justi2004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism