Paperback, 268 pages
English language
Published Jan. 1, 1998 by HarperPerennial.
Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century …
Aldous Huxley's profoundly important classic of world literature, Brave New World is a searching vision of an unequal, technologically-advanced future where humans are genetically bred, socially indoctrinated, and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively uphold an authoritarian ruling order–all at the cost of our freedom, full humanity, and perhaps also our souls. “A genius [who] who spent his life decrying the onward march of the Machine” (The New Yorker), Huxley was a man of incomparable talents: equally an artist, a spiritual seeker, and one of history’s keenest observers of human nature and civilization. Brave New World, his masterpiece, has enthralled and terrified millions of readers, and retains its urgent relevance to this day as both a warning to be heeded as we head into tomorrow and as thought-provoking, satisfying work of literature. Written in the shadow of the rise of fascism during the 1930s, Brave New Worldd likewise speaks to a 21st-century world dominated by mass-entertainment, technology, medicine and pharmaceuticals, the arts of persuasion, and the hidden influence of elites.
What we remember most is how disappointed we were that the story spun all the wonderful potential benefits of science into a dystopia where class and capitalism prevailed. The book disturbingly portrays how a society with admiral goals can go wrong with rigid and fanatical application. Society, it is to flourish, it needs to be open and alive.
Read this immediately afte reading the Orwell classic, 1984. I admit, I struggled reading this book. The method of story telling, with the switching of character perspective was difficult to follow. The idea of the book became far more clearer as the book progressed and became clear especially towards the end.
However the ideas presented in the book and their demonstration was thought provoking.
Re-read it after about 20 years since the first time in high school. He got everything so right about the tendency to destroy what's human in us for the sake of stability and pain-avoidance. Must-read.
Obra sobrevalorada donde las haya. Es cierto que Huxley es un adelantado a su tiempo ya que describe una sociedad que en algunos aspectos se va pareciendo peligrosamente a la nuestra, pero en mi opinión, sigue un planteamiento erróneo. Desde el aspecto político, describe una sociedad en la que el Estado cubre todas tus necesidades (comunismo) y al mismo tiempo somete a la población a continuos estímulos y drogas para que los ciudadanos crean que son felices (capitalismo), una contradicción como una casa. Entre eso y la burda selección de nombres de los personajes (Lenina, Marx, Trotsky…), es evidente que lo que ha escrito este señor británico de familia acomodada no es más que un panfleto con el que difundir la absurda idea de que “los extremos se tocan”.
I find the book fascinating in all the reality that the author created. I felt it as if I was in a nightmare. The pace of the book shifts a bit... I do like some of the moments. The audiobook version narrated by Michael York is very very good.
I couldn't help comparing it to 1984, maybe because my reading of that one is still fresh. In comparison I find this less beautiful and more frightening. The usage of England and the vocabulary of the era strikes as an odd thing. :) I guess this book feels closer to current western civilization than 1984 and I couldn't detach from that feeling. Kudos to Aldous
Un classique du roman d'anticipation. J'ai eu du mal à le lire : le style est assez lourd, les termes pseudo-scientifiques très nombreux et même si l'idée de départ est bonne, le récit lui-même ne m'a pas passionné. Je sais que ce roman est un classique, et j'ai peur d'être passé à côté de quelque chose de grand.
