I was tremendously eager to read Brave New World.  It is a legendary book, and its thoughts on the future have continued to illuminate the present, decades later.  On that score the book is brilliant and visionary.  However, AS A NOVEL it tastes like cardboard.  The characters are hollow and the plot is clumsy.  Fortunately it is a short book, and fortunately, Huxley's remarkable insights carry you through to the end. Still, given that it is a novel, I have to downgrade it for its clumsy design.  I ended up reading this more as a historical document, rather than for its literary style.  That said, lower your expectations, and plunge in.  Huxley was a man of remarkable foresight and one with a keen eye to the social dilemmas posed by technology.
I was tremendously eager to read Brave New World. It is a legendary book, and its thoughts on the future have continued to illuminate the present, decades later. On that score the book is brilliant and visionary. However, AS A NOVEL it tastes like cardboard. The characters are hollow and the plot is clumsy. Fortunately it is a short book, and fortunately, Huxley's remarkable insights carry you through to the end. Still, given that it is a novel, I have to downgrade it for its clumsy design. I ended up reading this more as a historical document, rather than for its literary style. That said, lower your expectations, and plunge in. Huxley was a man of remarkable foresight and one with a keen eye to the social dilemmas posed by technology.