Brave New World

Book: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley published 1932
ISBN 13: 9780060929879

How I found this book: School book list #5

Average Goodreads Rating: 3.93 (out of 779, 074 ratings) 

My Rating: 4 (and a half) out of 5 taco shells 

      This is actually the second time I've read this book, I tried reading it several years ago but I was too young to really grasp it. -I was probably 11 if you're curious-  Reading it now was a completely different experience. Brave New World is a classic representation of a dystopian society that is shown in so many Hollywood recreations. I also couldn't help but compare this with 1984 since they were so similar. 
        
     Like 1984, Brave New World takes place in a future version of England. Both novels had content that was way before their time. Orwell predicted that as society progressed, privacy would become harder and harder to find with his creation of 'telescreens' and some of Huxley's ideas are becoming reality as well, with the birth of the first 'test tube' baby, Louise Brown in 1978. 

    Speaking of comparisons between the novels, I actually had a discussion with my piano teacher about which book was 'better'. He liked 1984 whereas I think I prefer Brave New World. He said that Huxley's novel didn't have a solid plot but I actually think the weaker plot came from Orwell. Well. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I think the most major difference between the two were the views of their society on sex. In Brave New World it was a pretty major idea in the book that sex was a casual, recreational act. Whereas in 1984 sex was only between two married people for the purpose of having children. I think Huxley's interpretation is a little more believable since I do think sex is becoming more and more casual and people are doing it at younger ages. Sad but true.

       I think dystopian novels have really changed over the years. Looking at new teen books like The Hunger Games, Monument 14, Eve, Matched, Delirium compared to Brave New World and 1984 the books have gotten overall less dark in terms of tone. This is probably a harsh generalization but I think the idea of a harsh government and restrictions of society have gotten more familiar to us. Since the entertainment industry has desensitized us to so many things including sex, drugs, violence, and other negative concepts. In's really interesting to see how much society's views of things can change so quickly. 
   
                                Thanks for Reading!                                           -R