Book Review: Brave New World

By Aldous Huxley 

5 Stars 

Brave New World in 1932 by Aldous Huxley is a typical dystopian novel that predicts the future of our society and explores the balance between individuality and collectivity. In the story, the author introduces a possible advanced society with rigorous rules that ultimately ensure stability and a more primitive society with dangers and freedoms. The two main characters, Bernard Marx and John the Savage, who are nearly two outsiders of both societies, become the eyes of the reader to view them and evaluate which one is better for a human community.  

However, what Aldous Huxley wants to express in the book is the importance of balancing individualism and collectivism, or organization and freedoms. Both societies may be a future model for our civilization. Except as an exploration of the balance topic, Aldous predicts another topic in Brave New World, escapism, or the use of soma, a kind of legal drug in the advanced society of the novel. In the story, nearly all people in the developed society use soma to entertain themselves. The idea of escapism also exists in our daily life, people really rely on their phones, and the decriminalization of drugs also becomes an important topic in our society.  

Brave New World in 1932 by Aldous Huxley is a dystopian novel with a profound, predictive, and ironic story to be read. I would like to recommend everyone to read this book. Compared to 2 other famous dystopian stories, Animal Farm and 1984, this one is closer to our daily life. 

Reviewed by Jean S. 

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