It took me a long time to finally read Brave New World but Im quite happy I didnt read it earlier in life. Im still trying to gather my thoughts on this book and Im very curious of how other people have interpreted it.
So first of all, let me start by saying that Huxley was way ahead of its time. The whole society he built - a society where every the individual doesn't matter and you are very much replaceable, where capitalism is what moves society, where people do everything to only feel the good parts of life - is something we see in 2026. The fact that he wrote this book just 20 years after Henry Ford created the assembly line is kind of insane tbh and I think the world building is clearly the biggest strenght of the book. Also, writing this openly about sex, including between children, religion, politics and State propaganda and drugs in 1920s was very brave, even though the UK was of course more open than other countries back then.
The second point I want to make is that the book is not an easy read at all. Not so much in terms of content, but in terms of language and pacing. Im not an English native, but usually read everything in English and this book had so many words I've never heard of before. And the pacing is my biggest beef with this book. I think its suppose to be on purpose tbh, just like an assembly line, everything happens fast, there's no time to focus too much time on an individual character. But it did make it harder to read and Im still not 100% sure I got everything correctly and there's some characters Im still confused about (Henry Foster, for example, I dont get this character at all).
Now, the part I want to ask about is people's thoughts on John's character. He's of course supposed to represent the exact opposite of the people who were conditioned since birth to be part of the new society. But he is the exact opposite, meaning that - in my opinion - he is his own kind of extremist. While the "civilized people" want 100% comfort and happiness, he seems to want 0%, to prove to God he is worthy. He allows himself zero satisfaction, he ignores Lenina's advances, he doesnt try somma, he prefers to isolate himself from society and torture himself. He's flawed on his own way, which I quite liked in the book: Huxley doesnt give us any character who is the beacon of morality, who we should want to be like. He gives us two-sides of the same coin, though I guess Bernard Marx and Helmholtz are somewhere in between the two.
Finally, Im curious to know whether anyone has seen the BBC adaptation. The book is paced so fast and with so many technical/old words that Im kind of confused about some parts and would love to see an adaptation of it, but only if there is one that is actually good.
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