Brave New World in Retro Chapter Chicks

Apr 23, 2014 Book Concierge rated it really liked it

Shelves: concierge, science, library, social-commentary, psychology, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, movie, classic, religion, literature

Audio Book performed by Michael York

This is a classic science fiction / dystopian novel in which Huxley imagines a future world that is focused on mass production, consumption, and a homogenous civilization. Babies are grown in bottles and conditioned via chemicals and training as children to fill assigned roles – from Alphas (the top echelon) to Epsilons (the lowest class). The World State’s economy relies on everyone remaining happy in their assigned roles and on centralized control over repro Audio Book performed by Michael York

This is a classic science fiction / dystopian novel in which Huxley imagines a future world that is focused on mass production, consumption, and a homogenous civilization. Babies are grown in bottles and conditioned via chemicals and training as children to fill assigned roles – from Alphas (the top echelon) to Epsilons (the lowest class). The World State’s economy relies on everyone remaining happy in their assigned roles and on centralized control over reproduction, maturation and employment. Families no longer exist; in fact, “mother” is considered a horrifying obscenity. Religion is no longer practiced, though they do sort of worship Ford (i.e. Henry Ford, who promoted the use of assembly lines for mass production). The world is one large, homogenous “happy” place. Except …. A few places on the earth where the geography is not conducive to the grand plan have been set aside where humans are sequestered. These fenced-in “savages” procreate naturally and have antiquated customs such as marriage and religion.

The novel focuses on three young people: Bernard Marx, an Alpha sleep-specialist who is somewhat of a misfit; his friend Helmholtz Watson, a lecturer at the College of Emotional Engineering; and Lenina, a beautiful Beta nurse at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Center. Lenina’s attraction to Bernard prompts them to take a trip to the New Mexico Reservation where they encounter Linda, a Beta who was lost on a trip decades ago and has been trapped there ever since, and her son John, who has grown up among the savages, learning to read from an ancient copy of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. This encounter is the linchpin upon which the plot revolves.

First published in 1932 this is a brilliant work of imagination. Huxley has created a world civilization far different from what he knew and even from what we know nearly 100 years after he wrote the book. I was particularly struck by the focus on consumerism – “end it, don’t mend it” – especially when at the time of the writing, the world was in a Great Depression. Huxley also attacks religion, and societal mores. The novel as been on many “must read” lists; the Modern Library ranked it 5th on its 100 Best English-Language Novels of the 20th Century; it has also frequently been challenged, banned or removed from various curricula.

The audiobook is capably performed by Michael York. He does a fine job with the various characters, including the women. But I particularly love his interpretation of the dialogue between John (the savage) and Mustafa Mond (the Resident World Controller for Western Europe), when they are discussing literature, philosophy and religion.

This is not my preferred genre, but I was caught up in the world Huxley imagined and was interested in the characters and where the story would go. I had always thought I read this in high school. I certainly knew about the “bottle babies,” mass-production and caste system. But reading it now I cannot believe my all-girls Catholic high school would have assigned this book to us back in 1964. I certainly didn’t remember the emphasis on sex, contraception, and drug use. Could we have had an abridge/sanitized version? I am left thinking I never actually read it before. I’m certainly glad I have read it now.
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