Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's deeply satirical answer to the Orwellian future Utopia. Huxley's is a world of drug induced contentment, genetic predetermination, and ingrained consumerism, all sold with a smiling face, and for the drugged population it's an easy sell. The ruling faction is aiming for stability, and beyond that they care not. The "if we could just keep people from moving, from researching, from developing" is a common theme is Ayn Rand's controversial hit Atlas Shrugged, and Brave New World is a manifestation of a future in which things have been stopped and are being controlled by those in power. Individuals are not allowed to thrive in this environment, but are shipped off to island isolated locations so that they cannot affect the surrounding society, or are driven to suicide. This is a great futuristic sci-fi read, with a well-developed plot and characters and special treatment for the religion/science/consumerism discussion. Keep in mind the publish date of 1932, which makes the reverence of Ford and the prevalence of birth control even more meaningful. And what stood out to me was the flavor of nihilism throughout. And I really liked this book.
16 down on my way to 52.
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