Readings on: Brave New World

by Katie de Koster (Editor)

Essays discuss the novel's themes, background, plot, style, and characters

174 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. I think I'm too far from my English Literature major days to get much out of a book like this.

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 5 out of 5]

an interesting companion to the novel...

[kate]

More citizens of active democracies should be exposed to this book. It isn't required reading in high school and I am unaware of an effective movie that addresses the many, many prescient issues raised in Huxley's seminal novel of a not-too-distant dystopian future that sounds disturbingly possible. These essays explore Brave New World and I was amazed at how current, how right now - many of the essays were, despite many of them being written in the 50-60s.

I picked it up at the perfect time and am really glad I did. If you are surrounded by a sleeping culture speaking in platitudes and cliches, and obediently spouting the zeitgeist's latest catch phrases, and feel like something must be wrong in your zombie environment - this refresher course in a classic could reassure you it isn't just you.

Also, Huxley wrote this novel in 4 months. Just in case any writers out there are contemplating ending it all, perhaps you should.