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ninetalevixen 's review for:
Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley
content warnings:
Honestly, I just don't get it — and I don't think there's any shame in admitting this. I can certainly see why it's a popular choice for English classes, with all the social commentary and symbolism and Shakespeare and whatnot, but it's primarily concept-driven which really is not my cup of tea.
The characters are flat, their motives and concerns are rudimentary, and I was confused by the way different scenes alternate throughout chapters. (It works in some movies, and the occasional book, but in this case not so much.)
There are some interesting concepts, of course, yet despite the heavy exposition (at both the beginning and end of the narrative) I was still confused by the logic behind the dystopian setup: since all babies come from extracted gametes, for example, what's the point of sterilizing seventy percent of the female embryos but leaving all the males as-is? (Aside from systemic misogyny, but unlike in [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] it just doesn't make sense to me.) How exactly do these "freemartins" fit into the sex-obsessed social system? Given the heavy-handed authoritarian oversight, why do Native American reservations still exist, allowed to uphold their traditions?
I'm willing to accept the idea that these questions and others do make sense on some level that I just can't seem to wrap my head around. They're just examples of the bemusement that kept me from buying into the worldbuilding.
And beyond the worldbuilding, I just didn't get much out of reading this book.
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CONVERSION: 5.85 / 15 = 2 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 3 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 1 / 5
Spoiler
eugenics, ableism, classism, racism (incl. anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs), fatphobia, slut-shaming, brainwashing, drug addiction/dependency, normalized sexualization of children, literal self-flagellation, secondary character death(s), mention of dead dogHonestly, I just don't get it — and I don't think there's any shame in admitting this. I can certainly see why it's a popular choice for English classes, with all the social commentary and symbolism and Shakespeare and whatnot, but it's primarily concept-driven which really is not my cup of tea.
The characters are flat, their motives and concerns are rudimentary, and I was confused by the way different scenes alternate throughout chapters. (It works in some movies, and the occasional book, but in this case not so much.)
There are some interesting concepts, of course, yet despite the heavy exposition (at both the beginning and end of the narrative) I was still confused by the logic behind the dystopian setup: since all babies come from extracted gametes, for example, what's the point of sterilizing seventy percent of the female embryos but leaving all the males as-is? (Aside from systemic misogyny, but unlike in [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] it just doesn't make sense to me.) How exactly do these "freemartins" fit into the sex-obsessed social system? Given the heavy-handed authoritarian oversight, why do Native American reservations still exist, allowed to uphold their traditions?
I'm willing to accept the idea that these questions and others do make sense on some level that I just can't seem to wrap my head around. They're just examples of the bemusement that kept me from buying into the worldbuilding.
And beyond the worldbuilding, I just didn't get much out of reading this book.
-----------
CONVERSION: 5.85 / 15 = 2 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 3 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 1 / 5