How does it compare to audio works by the same author?
Not applicable
Advantages:
Fascinating vision/warning of the future, relevant to contemporary genetic technology, classic of the genre
Disadvantages:
Not the best in terms of plot, characterisation, etc
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Sometimes I think that, for someone with an A level in English literature, I'm not very well read. Unfortunately I spent a lot of my time reading politics and philosophy books, so rarely get round to reading fiction for leisure. We did do Orwell's Animal Farm for GCSE and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale in Sixth Form but, despite their relevance to someone studying political ideas, the likes of 1984 and Brave New World had sat too long on my Amazon wishlist. This summer, I decided to try to put that right.
Perhaps part of the reason for my delay was the feeling already familiar with the societies described in each, though it occurred to me I was almost totally ignorant of the main characters or plot. Nonetheless, I chose Brave New World first, partly because I knew it involved genetic programming and such, and also because I'd already read Huxley's essays Brave New World Revisited (which concern the state of society in 1958).
Brave New World opens, conveniently enough, on a tour of the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, which is the perfect way to familiarise the reader with the technology and society of the future, and spend some time scene-setting. No time's wasted spelling out every detail, however, a lot is left to the reader to imagine - for example, high-tech versions of tennis and golf are mentioned but never explained.
The society of the future - 632 After Ford, to be precise - is highly ordered, after the production line. Everyone is assigned a caste, before birth, and takes their place in the hierarchy - from the intellectual Alpha pluses who rule, to the Epsilon minuses who perform the most medial tasks. Religion, high art, the family and emotions are amongst the things that have been banished, in favour of peaceful, stable and happy existence. Free sex is encouraged for recreation (not reproduction), and if anyone feels unhappy the drug soma provides all the escape they could wish for, without negative side effects.
What's interesting is that this is not a totally negative vision - it's one where you can see an appealing idea taken too far, where other ideals and values (individuality, freedom) have been sacrificed to an all-consuming desire for peace and stability, following the Nine Years' War of 141AF. It could be a commentary not only on use of new genetic technology, but the arguably impoverished Benthamite view of happiness, that holds 'push-pin as good as poetry' - and therefore neglects higher ideals of achievement and knowledge in favour of 'bread and circuses', 'alcohol and reality TV' or 'soma and sex' as means to promoting universal happiness. It could be a comment on our own society, and what really makes life worthwhile, as much as a scary or prophetic vision of the future.
While the setting may be well known, the story itself might not be (as it wasn't to me). Essentially it involves a few higher caste (Alpha and Beta) members of society who are, or become, somewhat dissatisfied with their society. Bernard Marx is, despite careful genetic programming, marked out by physical difference, making him an outsider and individual. Nonetheless, he uses his position to take Lenina Crowne on a sort of nature tourism trip to a 'Savage Reservation', to see Indians who haven't been 'civilised' - who live in families, amongst dirt, and practice primitive religion.
It's when they bring back two of the savages that they are led to see their society in a new light. He is disillusioned with what he sees of civilisation, with what has been sacrificed, and they too come to see what they may be missing.
Personally, I found the overall social vision more inspiring than the actual story. The main characters are all variously flawed, which makes them realistic, but it's hard to identify with anyone. I suppose in a way this merely rubs home part of the moral - there's no black and white, good and evil - Mond and Bernard each have different ideals, and neither are wholly right or wrong, they're just different schemes of values. Mond genuinely wants to run society to make people happy, while Bernard doesn't like it.
Not that it's a bad story, in terms of characters, plot or telling - indeed there are some good uses of sharp cuts between different locations, some twists, and matters left to the reader to fill in - but it's the social commentary that gives this book its enduring appeal and that's at least as relevant today as ever. Writing in defence of the 'open society' (liberal democracy), during and immediately after WWII, and against what he saw as its totalitarian enemies, Karl Popper was to warn that the goal of making men happy is always a dangerous one for society. The justifications offered by Mond are, however, truly striking: "whenever the masses seized political power, then it was happiness rather than truth and beauty that mattered" (p.210) and "Happiness is never grand" (p.195).
It's a book deep in references and detail. Whether or not Huxley had Plato's Republic in mind, for example, I found that another useful comparison - for though he lacked the technology of Brave New World, he had similar concerns for unity and society above the individual - even if he'd condemn the Fordian regime's indifference to truth and immoral distractions. More explicitly there are, as the title suggests, numerous allusions to Shakespeare (Othello, Romeo and Juliet and, of course, The Tempest), which it may profit the reader to be aware of.
In fact, so rich are the references, I think this is a book where one who wants to pick up everything - which, of course, isn't necessary, as the main points are more obvious - may well want notes. While some names have obvious significance (Marx, Trotsky, Lenina, Bonaparte, Darwin, Rothschild), I was left wondering if I'd missed something in others. And it took me a while to recognise the Charing-T tower had replaced our cross, as Ford's model-T had replaced the cross in quasi-religious significance.
My edition is the Vintage Classics (pictured below) - cover price £7.99 but currently £6.39 on Amazon - though I was slightly disappointed to find, after buying and reading it, that for the same price, they also do a Readers Guide Edition (ISBN: 0099496976) with an extra 60 or so pages. At the end of the day, however, the most rewarding experience is reading it and thinking for yourself.
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