Brave New World by Aldous HuxleyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Somehow I was never required to read this in high school or university. I completely missed it until 2011 when I began my quirky science fiction and fantasy reading list. I remember reading it in close proximity to Orwell's 1984 and Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. Between the three of those novels, I was moved to ditch my television and to marvel at the prescience of these three authors.
This book was first published in 1932! Huxley gets so many predictions spot on. For instance, the materialism that came to dominate in the twentieth century onwards. Planned obsolescence. People who obsessively pursue happiness and use a lot of substances to achieve that state. The ostracism of those who refuse to conform to this oppressive sameness. The perceived value of never being alone (an introvert's nightmare) and not having to do any self reflection. Use of drugs, prescription or otherwise, to control mood.
Some things haven't changed, namely old white men running this society and although “Everyone belongs to everyone" it's still the men who are doing the choosing. And they choose lots of women, just as powerful men today think it's their right to make that same choice.
What is the worth of happiness? Can you even know you're happy if you drug every mildly unpleasant emotion? I appreciated love much more after experiencing grief. It's the contrasts that make the positive things truly feel good. Can intelligent people truly never be really happy? Are we tormented by all of our philosophical & religious fancies? Maybe happiness happens in the contemplation of all of these questions.
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