Brave New World

Im sure it was great for its time and went on to influence many other sci fi stories But in the modern age I’ve seen it done better. Also I don’t care for the characters that much.

The parallels between 1984 and this novel are so close together, I'm very impressed. Considering this was written in 1932, the verbiage used took some time getting used to, but overall it's a book I'd resist in the future

Fascinating story of the utopian future where everyone is happy and knows their place in society; there is no conflict, no autonomy, no individualism because no one has any strong emotional ties to any one else. Bernard is at the top of the societal strata, but he is plagued with his imperfections, shorter than his peers and his strange ideas. When he finally gets a date with the girl he fancies, they go to a savage reservation to see the curiosities of the uncivilized people. There they encounter Linda, an Alpha, left behind 20 years earlier. She has had a child, John, and raised him. In a world where people have no familial connections, everyone is decanted from test tubes, Linda and John become celebrities back in England when Bernard returns home with them. Linda is shunned, she has reached middle age and is fat. No one wants to see her. But John is a fascination for society. Bernard has social cache when he can provide access to the savage, but that quickly falls apart and John is confronted with a choice. He can try to assimilate into a world that will allow him indulge his every vice, but will not let him care deeply for any person. The other choice is to remove himself from that world and try to atone for his sins and become worthy of the beauty of the world. John chooses isolation, but even that does not let him escape the tragedy of this civilized world.
John was given a book of Shakespeare's works, which is considered taboo in the new world. But John looks at the world of England and quotes Miranda from The Tempest - "The brave new world." There are a lot of references to Shakespeare from John. There is literary analysis of the novel that cite it as a retelling of The Tempest with John being a Caliban figure. The themes in the book still resonate 90 years later. Social caste systems, with embryos being manipulated to their station in life. The use of drugs to ease emotional pain. The achievement of civilization being to create a stable populace by removing all strong emotions. Even the purpose of religion and the belief in God. Huxley tackles all these ideas in his novel. This book will make you look at our world and think about where we are and where we are heading.

Such an interesting idea for a dystopia, questioning what it means to be happy and have free will

The first book that made me speechless. The dystopian society is very disturbing and will even make you wonder if we are heading there.