Brave New World: Vintage (Vintage Classics)

A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley is a literary masterpiece that has stood the test of time, offering a chilling yet thought-provoking glimpse into a dystopian future. Huxley's vivid imagination and keen insight into human nature create a world that is both fascinating and horrifying.Set in a technologically advanced society where individuality and personal choice have been sacrificed for stability and uniformity, "A Brave New World" challenges our fundamental notions of freedom, happiness, and the pursuit of truth. The novel explores the consequences of a world where science and technology are used to control every aspect of human life, from reproduction to emotions.One of the most striking aspects of the book is Huxley's ability to create a world that feels eerily plausible. His vision of a society obsessed with pleasure, instant gratification, and the suppression of dissenting ideas resonates with our modern concerns about the impact of technology on human behavior and the erosion of individual autonomy.The characters in "A Brave New World" are complex and serve as vehicles for the exploration of the novel's themes. Bernard Marx, an outcast in this utopian society, provides a lens through which we witness the inherent flaws and contradictions of the world Huxley has crafted. Meanwhile, the enigmatic figure of John, the Savage, introduces an intriguing contrast between the values of the "Brave New World" and the primitive, but genuine, emotions of the natural world.Huxley's prose is both elegant and incisive, drawing the reader into the narrative with its rich descriptions and sharp observations. His ability to convey complex ideas through engaging storytelling is nothing short of remarkable.What sets "A Brave New World" apart is its ability to spark deep reflection on the nature of human existence. It prompts readers to question the trade-offs between individual freedom and societal stability, between genuine emotion and artificial happiness. The novel's message is as relevant today as it was when it was first published, serving as a warning about the potential dangers of unchecked technological progress.In conclusion, "A Brave New World" is a must-read for anyone interested in dystopian literature, speculative fiction, or philosophical contemplation. Aldous Huxley's vision of a future society serves as a powerful cautionary tale, urging us to consider the ethical implications of our pursuit of progress. This book is a testament to the enduring power of literature to challenge and inspire generations to come.

This is a book that I have been wanting to read for years but never got to it. I finally decided to give it a go. I was only aware of the basics of this book and I hadn't read any other reviews about it.What I discovered is quite a bizarre story that became quite addictive. It does have a strong literary fiction feel to it. At times the writing is poetic, at others disjointed and overall a story that gradually got under my skin.The world that Huxley has created is one where people are expected to be happy, they are brainwashed into feeling this. There is no mother, father or in fact any type of family connection. Each person has been produced in a test tube, each person has been altered at a genetic level to become what is required for Huxley's world to function. There is a layered social system where people are born to be what they are engineered to be, so someone with a lowly job will be content with that job. They don't aspire to be anything more than what they are supposed to be.Creating this world, the author then throws an anomaly in the system, this is something that shows that even with the use of technology there will be a time when nature intervenes, or it may be a simple human mistake. Either way, this is where the characters that start to question the system have a more important role.In the second half of the book, there is a move from the system to that of the outside world, this is more what we know today. Parents, relationships and unique traits and characteristics. This for me is where the story then takes an even more addictive turn. The comparisons built up between those in the system and those out of it are great. By the end of the book, I found I was very much interested in some of the characters. The ending, well that was a shock!This is a fabulous book to read, and I did struggle to find the flow at the beginning. I did read it in two sittings. The first sitting was a bit wobbly and at 33% I decided to have a break, this turned out to be a great time to pause and then coming back to it the following night. I then found myself unable to put this book down and finished it.This is a book that has loads of reviews, has loads of opinions and there are probably theories and it will have been analysed in every aspect. I read for the pleasure of it, so for me, this book was one that intrigued me. It did feel disjointed, to begin with, but it grew on me. I enjoyed this and I am very glad that I have read this book.For a book that was written in 1931 and published in 1932, it has some brilliant imagination and foresight into a possible future. A world where people are engineered to fit into a hierarchical society. It is a very good book and it is one I would happily recommend.

Brave New World depicts a simple, light-hearted and perfectly content society, where, through conditioning from the moment you burst into life in the test tube to your irrelevent death, no-one suffers, no-one complains, and no-one is ever alone. A world where you are constantly stimulated by synthetic machinery, and require nothing but one or two pills to escape a stray emotion here or there, or induce a mental holiday to avoid the possiblity of facing them. No worries.And also no art, no literature or true creation of any kind. No gods or spirituality, no adventure or surprises or passion of any kind, ever. No parents or families or friends or intimacy. No scientific advancement. No private thoughts. Everyone is for everyone else. Your time must be shared. You can never experience solitude and reflection. You can never have autonomy. Your words are not your own. Your body is not inviolate. If you are not like this you are shipped off to an island with the few other defective members of society who are like you. Whether that is lucky or unlucky is a matter of perspective.Effing frightening stuff if ever I heard it. I loved this book more after I finished than when I was reading, because the challenge wasn't in accepting the world the characters inhabited, as it was really easy to digest because of its intentional tone (extraordinarily light, as if you're on a drug inducing you to be that way the entire time, hint hint), but accepting the world around me as being frighteningly familiar to it in some unsettling ways. It deosn't wholly reflect the world right now, but when it does it is in big ways. Though short it feeds enough into the psyche about our society as a whole, how we need suffering for heroism, mutual passion for love, pain and rejection for inspiration, and loss to understand the value of life - without these things creativity and progression are impossible. In Brave New World they are unwanted. Even sitting here now I'm remembering things that have so much more meaning after digesting than they did at the time. I suppose that's a good sign, being able to think...Having been released in the 40s (and so forgiveness must be given for some more outdated things in it), I'm sure it was a frightening vision of the future like its fellow 1984. Nowadays, maybe it doesn't always get the same reception because we're slipping into a distracted world and are conditioned to not see it coming...even like it... There are so any things I could write now the layers are springing up, but I would probably write an essay. Or a book. It'd probably be something very much like this one.As an added bonus, there was was also that moment I realised the film Demolition Man was clearly inspired by this book. That was a revelation.

The story is fabulous, an absolute, well deserved classic. I read it many years ago as a school text and found it just as well-written and thought provoking this time around as I did in the 70's.So why the 3 stars? Well this kindle edition is appalling. So many typos some sections are almost impossible to read, my "favourite" is mis-naming Lenina to Lenin. Apostrophes are often replaced with question marks and words are jumbled. I seriously considered buying it again in another format just to make it legible.5stars for the story, zero stars for proofreading.

I reread this after a period of four decades, this time picking up far more on the elements of satire. I found it extraordinarily well written if, at times. not entirely convincing. Though offering a very different dystopian view from Orwell's "1984", there are certain similarities, for example with Mustapha Mond and O'Brien - the high priests, as it were, who expose the rationale behind their respective systems, in some ways sympathise with their opponents but nevertheless punish them for the greater good as they describe it. It's not as harrowing as "1984", for the subjugation of individuality comes through programming of the constant pursuit and satisfying of pleasure rather than fear of betrayal and torture.The character of John Savage, particularly the way he develops and thinks almost entirely in Shakespearean language, isn't believable, and towards the end the book tends towards farce.However, it's a brilliant read by a brilliant writer - and there is an inner tension throughout, the idea that Huxley is attracted by the world he creates, as if he, himself, as an Alpha Plus, would welcome being at the top of an ordered society ruled by an intellectual elite. Odd, too, how he veered away from reality towards the end of his life - mescalin instead of soma.

This book is a classic and for very good reason. It has some powerful themes and is written in such a gripping way that you can't put the book down until you've finished. It doesn't have the darker, totalitarian, hyper-surveillance overtones of Orwells '1984', but gives an equally disturbing view of the future. The ideas of social conditioning and recreational drugs are especially chilling and makes you look at the world around you in a whole new light. I found the ending a touch lack lustre (hence the four stars), but the journey getting there is marvelous and will make you uncomfortable at times as you consider what life you'd prefer, the drugged easy utopia ,or the feeling savage lands. I guess that's a debate that we ask ourselves spiritually or in our everyday lives to some degree anyway, (simply getting by or feeling deeply and rocking the boat). This book is just an amplification of that. Overall a great read, with stirring themes that will play on your mind for some time to come and well worth the time taken to read it. One of those books that leaves your life richer for having read it.Feel free to check out my blog which can be found on my profile page.

Very cheap but at a small cost. Some of the words are spelt incorrectly. Lenina is spelt Lenin all the way through. Still unbelievably cheap and doesn’t distract from the overall story.

A definitely used but nonetheless well-preserved copy, for a very reasonable price. Quickly delivered. Good seller.

Pros: A classic that holds up, font and text is clearly readable, the introduction is brief an concise.Cons: From the pictures on Amazon page you cannot clearly tell that the illustration on the hard cover is not engraved into the book itself but just a dusk jacket. I have not found anything in description on the Amazon page that specifies otherwise . For a 90th Anniversary Edition I expected a more premium care/build of the book.

Perfeito!

Estupendo libro, leanlo

Aldous Huxley has depicted a dystopian world in this book where children are no longer born naturally and are rather genetically engineered and grown in decanters. Every child born has a predestined caste depending upon the conditioning of its decanted embryo. The residents of the world state are segregated into alphas, bravos, gammas, deltas and epsilons with alphas being the highest in the degree of precedence and epsilons being the lowest.A decanted embryo is raised according to the caste it is predestined to born into. Alphas are breeded to be intellectuals and have excellent physical and mental conditioning whereas epsilons are conditioned to have stunted growth and low IQ so as to perform menial jobs. Once a child is born from the embryo , it is made to undergo a training program wherein it's reactions to various stimuli is engineered depending upon its caste and future job role. The juveniles are exposed to hypnopaedic learning or sleep teaching and also encouraged to perform erotic play to encourage promiscuity.In the world state, there is no concept of religion, family or marriage. Women are born freemartins and don't give birth. All the residents are non- chastate and are promiscuous ("Everyone belongs to everyone else"). The world is depicted as technologically advanced where everyone commutes in a helicopter and residents are secure from all diseases and worries. They are kept in a false state of happiness with sex, drugs and music.The residents of the world are conditioned not to question their existence or have an opinion on things. There are no history books or literature available to them. 'Soma' is a magical drug which removes their worries, anger and frustration and calms them. The drug is rationed to all the residents and they all are shown as its slave. The world depicted in the story shows no struggle for the residents and all of them are kept in a false state of happiness. Terms like vibro vacuum massage, sec hormone chewing gum and feelies ( movies where you feel all sensations) are a part of the false utopian world of the residents.Other than the residents of the state world, there also exists 'savage' reservations. There is no specific protagonist in the story. There are various characters like Bernard Marx, Lenina, Helmholtz, John (savage), Linda ,Mustafa Mond etc. The story takes Bernard and Lenina to a savage reservation in Mexico where they meet John and Linda and bring them along to their world in London. The rest of the novel involves the Savage's point of view and his feeling with respect to the so called utopian world. The story with a few turn of events change the Savage's perception of the world completely.The book is an excellent read. This book is equally good if not better than Orwell's 1984. Highly recommended.

Bardzo fajne wydanie.