Brave New World

Would a future totalitarian society be all that bad if every single person - from the day they were born - was truly happy with their lot in life? That is the question Brave New World asks, and Aldous Huxley leaves it up to the reader to decide the answer.I've re-read this book several times and each time I'm glad I did. That is because it is an enjoyable story, first and foremost. The characters have sufficient depth, the locales are peculiar and attention-grabbing, and the underlying message is enough to make you stop and think.Brave New World revolves around three main characters. First, there's Bernard Marx, an elite "Alpha Plus" who is uncertain about how he fits into society. Then, there is Mustapha Mond, the World Controller for Western Europe, a man who reads The Holy Bible and Shakespeare, despite his society's ban on these "pornographic books". Finally, we have John (named John Savage when he visits Bernard's world), the son of two World State citizens raised in the remote hostility of a Savage Reservation. The interactions and thoughts of these three characters forms the skeleton of the book, and it is through their eyes that we view the World State of the future. The reader learns about how babies are "decanted" in the future, how they are bred and conditioned for their role in society, how entertainment plays a role in keeping them happy, and how unhappiness can be quickly whisked away by a gramme of Soma, a powerful drug that has no debilitating side-effects. Of course, it would be easy for the author to jab his finger at you from the pages and scream "SEE?!? SEE?!?! See what a society without freedom looks like? Isn't it horrible?", but he doesn't. In fact, the world of Year of Our Ford 632 doesn't seem so bad at all when you consider disease, war, and unhappiness have all been snuffed out of existence.But at what cost?Midway through the book, we meet John. Biologically, a son of the World State, but philosophically a student of the old religions and old literature of the old world. But don't misunderstand. John is not necessarily the book's "everyman". Many of his emotions and actions (like self-flagellation) are still foreign to a modern reader. Bernard - who has at this point accepted that he is "different" compared to his fellow World State-ers - brings John to his home to show him off to his peers. Naturally, many aspects of the World State are appalling to John, and this conflict continues all the way to the book's conclusion.Something I found remarkable is that the author, Huxley, gives us plenty of chances to sympathize with many of the various characters. Bernard Marx is not the "good guy" nor the "bad guy". In another story, the World Controller Mond might have been the evil villain trying to destroy any freedom, and John Savage might have been the passionate hero who wins the pretty girl and ultimately brings that freedom to society. But none of this occurs. The characters in Brave New World are just people, thrust into a world of perfect happiness and perfect harmony, and they each react in their own way. Sure, it's cute to see how the author envisioned the future, and perhaps a bit scary to see some of his "predictions" coming true, but that isn't what makes this book great. What makes it great is that it allows the reader to come to his/her own conclusions. To you, perhaps the World State seems terrifying, or maybe it seems like a nice place to live. To you, perhaps John Savage is the hero, or perhaps the logic and compassion in Mustapha Mond's final words and final actions resonate with you more. Maybe you can relate best to Bernard Marx's flawed personality. I suppose the choice is really yours, because Huxley doesn't make that choice for you.A lot of people say that the story is about entertainment media taking over our society, or about drugs, or about a controlling government, or about morality. I don't think Huxley intended the book to be exclusively about any one of those things, although of course the book makes a statement about them all. As stated above, Brave New World lets you draw your own conclusions about the World State instead of trying to grab you by the collar while screaming "SEE?!? SEE?!? See how horrible a world full of drugs and genetic manipulation would be?"Now, I rate this book a full 5 stars, but here is the "but..." of the review. For the majority of the book, we are treated to a fascinating romp through future science, future sociology, and future beliefs. However, toward the end of the book, John and Mustapha Mond engage in a very lengthy conversation about society and morals and God. To me, I really enjoyed this part. It was a great answer to my lingering question of "Why did society become this way?". To others, it might come off as a preachy, show-offy exposition from Huxley's own heart. Mustapha makes a point about human psychology, and John counters with Shakespeare. Mustapah points to the World State's "happiness", and John counters with God. Mustapha talks about bliss, and John talks about struggling for joy. I enjoyed it, but you might not, especially since it breaks away from the overall pace and feel of the rest of the book.Nevertheless, this book is well worth reading. It can be finished by a diligent reader in a weekend, and it contains a lot of thought-provoking ideas that will stick with you long after the final page.

In short, Brave New World earns 4 out of 5 stars from me. Novel concept, done well, prophetic in some ways, but losing a star to a poor story with too much suspension of belief for a dystopia that wishes to be taken seriously.Brave New World's biggest selling point is its concept. While novels about authoritarian governments run rampant in the dystopian world, Huxley takes the interesting approach of running the opposite direction. This book posses the question, what if we took humanity's need to remove discomfort and pain to the absolute extreme? What would a society with no suffering look like? In a few words, the answer is dull, childish, and shallow.To dive a bit deeper, Huxley shows through his world that seeking comfort and avoiding struggle stunts human passion, and thus deprives a culture of art and (ultimately) meaning. He also has a stint where he does some ridiculous arguments on religion's importance, which nearly derailed me with all the eye-rolling I was doing, but let's just ignore that and focus on the good stuff for now. In Huxley's world, everyone is so busy seeking cheap entertainment and zero-side-effects drugs that they don't fight, or create, or seek, or really do much anything except act as robots of a sort, fulfilling a role until their expiration date arrives. He has some great scenes that illustrate this, too, like one of the characters wanting to write a great poem but lacking any motivation, or really anything to write about at all. With no war, no love, no struggle, or loneliness, all his writing is tragically without fuel for the flames of passion.In a way, Brave New World was kind of prophetic. I see the use of smartphones today as a solid example of how some (most?) are being conditioned to be entertained, all the time, and also to be connected, unable to find solitude in the world's increasing connectivity. I could see a great many discussions being opened up using this novel as the basis, and I really have to hand it to Huxley for doing that.However, I couldn't find myself capable of giving this book 5 stars on its concept alone. I had to knock one off because the truth is . . .This story was kind of boring. Since the culture is so dull, Huxley attempts to create a plot out of bringing in an outsider, The Savage, into the story for an outside perspective, only The Savage is just as terrible as the people he's supposed to reflect in my opinion because he's a serious religious nut-job with a 1500's perspective on women's chastity who apparently didn't learn a freaking thing about NOT being prejudice when he himself suffered such a thing all his damn life. I mean, really, everyone in this story except the ONE girl is a hypocrite and I find it hard to empathize with people I'd rather see miserable for not growing a damn spine and showing a slight bit of integrity.I mean, really, is that so much to ask?And let's dive deeper into that view on women and religion I talked about. Another reason I knocked off a star is because although Huxley had a good concept of people being, basically, soothed into a semi-moronic state, he chose some vehicles that were really stuck in the past. Let me see I can explain.Huxley uses sex as a crutch pretty much throughout this entire book. Sex and drugs, really, but the drugs part was spot on while the sex part really missed the mark. In Brave New World, anyone can have sex with anyone, and they are encouraged to do so. Huxley goes through great length to imply just how terrible this is for WOMEN only, as in terrible for their HONOR. Although everyone is having sex with everyone, his characters only ever consider the women as meat and female chastity as a problem. It's heavily implied by Huxley that in Brave New World, women are worth less and aren't treated with respect because they get to have sex all the time.Obviously, none of this applies to men, because you know, Huxley published this book in 1932, and apparently didn't have the foresight required not to slut-shame.I mean, really, it wouldn't have been much of a stretch for Huxley to push beyond and imply that love was lost between everyone equally for not valuing each other as partners, but no. That's not what happened, and it reflects terribly on Huxley and his work, making Brave New World an interesting view into the future, but forcing the viewer to be forever stuck in the past. I had to suffer this ridiculous slut-shaming view every single freaking chapter, which kept making me sigh and shake my head, jolting me from the real concept Huxley was trying to get at.Also, Huxley basically does the same thing with religion, implying the christian god is a stated fact and this Brave New World, where everyone is essentially atheist, is terrible for rejecting that. Only adds to what I said earlier.Could have been five stars, but just wasn't quite there. Brave New World hit the nail on the head, but unfortunately used a rubber mallet to do it.