Brave New World

I listened to a dramatic audiobook version.

The start and the setup is very good. The world itself is interesting and a utopia from a certain angle. This is a world where you will be programmed to the most alpha (literally) have great appearance, pleasure, orgies available everywhere, work will be simple and optimal, there are no intellectual challenges, no marriage, commitment, fun events everywhere, constant travelling of the world available. But it still has a few flaws and one of the main characters for some reason is let to participate in this society despite not meeting any of the genetic requirements which are very carefully conditioned.

The main conflict is a bit weird, it's like the main characters want the suffering, the sadness, ageing, and terrible things that happen while living. I don't think we are deprived of these things currently so not sure how to apply the story to any of my thinking. I guess any societal extremes are detrimental to the individual and we should seek to balance both the society and individual needs.

The main male character idealises, but also devalues the person he loves at the same time, recognizes her as an object created by society, but also wants her. It's a bit odd, I dunno, I don't feel there was a satisfying conclusion to most things or how they progressed.

This book has good concepts and with better execution it would have rocked. There is a chapter at the start in particular which is so fragmented and shifts perspectives so rapidly, it was very jarring. Not sure how modern it is to call one of the characters from tribes a savage, did they have a name? I don't remember it. I expected this to be a little more interesting idk, the very start was very fun tho with all the genetic modification stuff, it's such a fascinating subject.

This book is the bomb. And not just any bomb, Huxley wants to blow your mind. I just kept turning the pages, becuase I craved the introspective thoughts and reflections on human dignity that this book tries to spring on the reader. You find yourself cheering for people who are looking for more, only to be disapointed by their fatal flaws. The book's setting that is so inherently inhumane that it paints a beauty on the tiniest slivers of humanity.

Seriously, how was this book written in the 1930's and still relevant... human nature, I guess. The ways we fall are different but the reasons stay the same.

Overall, Brave New World was an interesting read. My only regret is reading it after 1984, which set my expectations very high. I especially appreciated the inclusion of Aldous Huxley’s letter to George Orwell, where he acknowledges that society may be heading more toward Orwell's vision of a dystopia than his own.

The story truly captured my attention with the introduction of the "savages". Before that point, I kept expecting for more from the writing. As Huxley himself says in the preface, “Good is better than perfection,” and I respect that he recognized the flaws in his work yet chose to keep it in its original form.

A world where everything is artificial and focused only on profit and comfort doesn’t stay far from home. It’s worrying that a novel written in 1931 still has discussions that resonate today. The comfort zone that Huxley’s world promotes opposes completly the creativity and critical thinking that are inherent from humans.

In our own dystopian reality, we could associate this comfort zone to our constant consumption of content and entertainment. When John demands his right to be unhappy, it serves as a reminder that we should also reclaim our right to be bored and let our brains rest.

As much as the over-sexualization and lack of empathy towards characters seem to be a constant complaint on readers I did not mind these. The allegoric way in which Huxley seems to perceive the perfect society is masterfully depicted. It’s insane to think it’s been almost a century since the book was written. The description of the mundane activities that took part (and are almost robotically done so) in said society is very rich and purposeful. Really enjoyed the read and thought it was interesting in many levels. The highlights for me were the second to last and last chapters.

4 ⭐️

Почему-то я долгое время путал «Дивный новый мир» с «Утопией» Томаса Мора и от того не хотел читать (старая фантастика). Но со второй попытки мне понравилось и я даже дочитал.

Также я думал (много думаю), что эта книга похожа на «1984-й», но оказалось, что нет :-)

Эта книга скорее философское размышление на тему альтернативного общества. Очень напоминает коммунистов.

Как часто бывает с такими книгами (поэтому меня оценка 4/5): классных идей дофига, но текст и сюжет сравнительно унылые. До Тургенева или Гоголя Хаксли как до Луны.

Поэтому, хочется многое отмечать, цитировать, размышлять над этим, но восхищаться слогом не приходится.

Мне понравилась фраза: «Пылесосить? Зачем пылесосить, если для этого есть Эпсилон-полукретины?..»

It's hard to believe this book was initially written in 1932. Given the current state of society as we know it, we are heading towards this vision of the future like a runaway train. This is one of those books I've had on my “to read” list for literally decades, and now I see why so many people hold this up as a classic of literature.

One of the first dystopian classics, it has a lot to say. It points out all the stupidities of our lives - at one point, the Controller says they chose happiness over high art, which is why they have no understanding of Othello's or other Shakespearean's plays - from which the title was taken, btw; The tempest.
It brings out empty sex, no institutions (everyone works and belongs to everyone else), no sickness or old age, no passion or individuality. It is mentioned that castes were necessary - that a group of Alphas solely extinguished themselves, because nobody would accept lower status - and that consumerism rules society.
My reason to give it 3 instead of 4 stars is exclusively the narrative, which I find lacking. orwell, for instance, had me hooked much faster. But then again, it might just be because I'm conditioned...

This was an incredible read. I feel fundamentally changed (over-exaggeration?). It was heaps of description and exposition, but I have to hand it to dear old Aldous for all the points raised in the chapter where Helmholtz, John and Bernard meet with Mustapha and Mustapha gives the low down on why this society is the way it is - why sacrifice is an enormous part of how we live our lives and how this society just happened to sacrifice truth, beauty and passion.

Pretty heavy stuff. But told in such an incredibly engaging way (imagine reading this as a thesis?).

Read this after listening to Yuval Noah Harari (author of Sapiens) speak on the Tim Ferriss Podcast - definitely worth a listen. His philosophy about where the world is going and the threats to humankind are eerily linked to Brave New World - which he addresses as a major inspiration.

Also big ups to Aldous for such incredible use of Shakespeare. So many lines from his text make more sense to me now lol
peace

Dull in the beginning, but it picked up the pace around halfway through the book. Many people had recommended this to me claiming it was a more accurate representation of our current world than Orwell's “1984”. I agree with them to an extent, however it did not leave quite the impression that Orwell's masterpiece had on my mind.

Just finished this book for the second time this morning. I do think that it was better the second time around. Maybe it was my ability to understand it better thanks to several years of training, maybe I just paid more attention this time. While I found it striking that some of the things the Brave New Worlders got themselves into were similar to what we enjoy today, it does seem overtly science fiction.

My edition of the book contained Huxley's forward where he asserts that his major omission was nuclear fission. After WWII and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, one can see why Huxley would have made such a statement. Imagine, though, if he would have hinted at something like the Internet! Mustapha Mond often says that the residents of BNW are conditioned to the point that they cannot be alone...that their lives are ordered such that they don't have many chances to be alone. Are we really that different? Our closeness, though, is facilitated more by technology that Huxley imagined. Our cell phones - now smart phones - are attached to our hips unless we are asleep. Most of us have multiple media to access our social networking sites. Our connection is unending, but, as Huxley's tale warns, too much connection can have a numbing effect.

I found two things very interesting. First, Henry Ford's major “contribution” to society - the assembly line - is the starting point of the BNW. Everything is an assembly line, even pleasure. Secondly, the Savage's demise suggests that the future can survive in the past (as Linda did), but that something accustomed to the past (i.e., savagery) cannot survive unchanged in the future. Huxley takes the notion of “adapt or die” to the metaphorical extreme.

Admirável Mundo Novo de Aldous Huxley é um clássico provocador de reflexção sobre a sociedade atual, e apesar de a obra já ter mais de oitenta anos ainda prova estar atual.
Tal como no Admirável Mundo Novo, cada vez mais vezes a simplificação de prazeres e da arte, são raros os artes da “alta arte” e os que existem parecem estar pouco preocupados com o mundo. Para lá disso a nossa sociedade conta até com um falso intelctualismo baseado em obras de arte superficiais.
A facilidade com que os humanos do mundo de Huxley obtêm prazer pode ser equiparada à progressiva felicidade e facilidade que todos nós temos no mundo, mesmo que não seja plena. Assim retiramos que um mundo melhor para nós tem de envolver desafio e a alta arte, desafio e o pensamento. Desafio este emocional e fisico. É claro que quando se trata de desafio emocional não se propõe o completo oposto da destopia de Huxley, que é representado pelo mesmo como o momento de autoflagelação do selvagem, mas sim o desafio emocional de não escaparmos às nossas emoções como as personagens de Huxley fazem com soma, uma drogra potente que faz as pessoas felizes e esquecerem seus problemas.