A review by k0ks3nw4i
What Not: A Prophetic Comedy by Rose Macaulay

3.0

I can see why this is enjoying a bit of a modern resurgence, given its obvious influence on Brave New World (a book I adore), and its prescient caution against eugenics decades before the Holocaust. It is no doubt an important piece of literature, and one that was very wittily written but unfortunately, it failed to add up to a very satisfying or enjoyable story for me. I think it functions on a mostly intellectual level, but it seems incapable—at least for me—at inciting any emotions or passions the way Brave New World, 1984 and The Handmaid's Tale did, which probably contributed to their enduring popularity, while What Not largely disappeared from public consciousness.