Brave New World has attracted a wealth of praise and criticism since it was first published.  Some of the criticism is justified, but the book's value is undiminished.
Yes, Huxley is in love with his own vocabulary; if  you have any doubts on that score, read the introduction he wrote sometime  after Brave New World was published, which is so "highfalutin" as  to be ridiculous.  The book itself is better, but one of Huxley's  fundamental rules seems to be, "Never use a two syllable word if you  can use a seven syllable word instead."  However, you don't really  have to know what "viviparous" or "pavlovian" mean to  follow the plot; most of the vocabulary can be figured out well enough from  context.
Brave New World is often criticized as being "dated" -  some of the technology seems absurd by today's standards, and Huxley's  portrayal of Native Americans seems far from "politically  correct".  My response to this is, yes, if you want to get stuck on  details, those would seem to be defects in the book.  The same criticisms  about quaint technology could be made about just about anything written by  Jules Verne or Isaac Asimov; and, I seriously doubt that anyone will ever  use Huckleberry Finn or The Martian Chronicles as textbooks in a  sensitivity training seminar.  So what?  Expecting Huxley, who was born in  the late 19th century and wrote Brave New World in 1932, to have a 1990's  (oops, 2000's) outlook and knowledge is silly, and misses the point of the  book entirely.
Taken in a broader context, though, Huxley's message is as  fresh as ever.  In Brave New World, the social order is maintained through,  among other things, instant gratification and conditioning.  Unfulfilled  need produces passion, aspiration, creativity, motivation, growth, and a  desire to change things - all dangerous in a society which prides itself on  "stability".
Our modern society is, of course, nothing like  this.  Huxley describes "feelies" - high-tech sort of movies,  complete with impressive special effects, designed to entertain the common  herd, described by one character as "written by an idiot."  Hmmm  - stories written by idiots, complete with the latest special  effects...have you been to the movies lately?  Likewise, "soma"  may seem a strange idea to the reader - but consider the alarming tendency  today to medicate any discontented adolescent with Prozac.  Conditioning?  Political correctness + an MTV view of life + idolization of celebrities +  etc + etc = ... what?
One last note - Huxley himself later said that if  he were to rewrite Brave New World, he would give it a different (more  hopeful) ending.  I suppose if anyone has a right to rewrite a book, it's  the author - but personally, I'm glad he never tried. The ending _is_  depressing; but Brave New World shows where today's culture will lead, if  all the worst aspects are permitted to continue to thrive and flourish.  And it is a depressing place.
Brave New World has attracted a wealth of praise and criticism since it was first published. Some of the criticism is justified, but the book's value is undiminished. Yes, Huxley is in love with his own vocabulary; if  you have any doubts on that score, read the introduction he wrote sometime  after Brave New World was published, which is so "highfalutin" as  to be ridiculous. The book itself is better, but one of Huxley's  fundamental rules seems to be, "Never use a two syllable word if you  can use a seven syllable word instead. "  However, you don't really  have to know what "viviparous" or "pavlovian" mean to  follow the plot; most of the vocabulary can be figured out well enough from  context. Brave New World is often criticized as being "dated" -  some of the technology seems absurd by today's standards, and Huxley's  portrayal of Native Americans seems far from "politically  correct". My response to this is, yes, if you want to get stuck on  details, those would seem to be defects in the book. The same criticisms  about quaint technology could be made about just about anything written by  Jules Verne or Isaac Asimov; and, I seriously doubt that anyone will ever  use Huckleberry Finn or The Martian Chronicles as textbooks in a  sensitivity training seminar. So what? Expecting Huxley, who was born in  the late 19th century and wrote Brave New World in 1932, to have a 1990's  (oops, 2000's) outlook and knowledge is silly, and misses the point of the  book entirely. Taken in a broader context, though, Huxley's message is as  fresh as ever. In Brave New World, the social order is maintained through,  among other things, instant gratification and conditioning. Unfulfilled  need produces passion, aspiration, creativity, motivation, growth, and a  desire to change things - all dangerous in a society which prides itself on  "stability". Our modern society is, of course, nothing like  this. Huxley describes "feelies" - high-tech sort of movies,  complete with impressive special effects, designed to entertain the common  herd, described by one character as "written by an idiot. "  Hmmm  - stories written by idiots, complete with the latest special  effects... have you been to the movies lately? Likewise, "soma"  may seem a strange idea to the reader - but consider the alarming tendency  today to medicate any discontented adolescent with Prozac. Conditioning? Political correctness + an MTV view of life + idolization of celebrities +  etc + etc =... what? One last note - Huxley himself later said that if  he were to rewrite Brave New World, he would give it a different (more  hopeful) ending. I suppose if anyone has a right to rewrite a book, it's  the author - but personally, I'm glad he never tried. The ending _is_  depressing; but Brave New World shows where today's culture will lead, if  all the worst aspects are permitted to continue to thrive and flourish. And it is a depressing place.