I like this book and Aldous Huxley a lot. Even with the fact, that this novel is written in 1932, Huxley comes with his utopia close to the truth and insight of the new society. And it is still fun to read! :-)

I have read this book long ago, when my English had not been that good, yet. But I could follow the great story. Especially I have liked the character of the soma addicted mother of the savage. She consumes only "happy" media for her daily brainwash. :-)

This book goes to spy-there. I told her about it around her birthday and she has been interested in it. So I am happy to provide her one of my favourite books.

Thanks c_f :) It's time to read this again; I can't even remember the content ...

eigentlich wollte ich für dieses Buch: http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/13678174/
einen Journaleintrag schreiben..bc leitet mich aber auf dieses hier? Etwas läuft falsch.

I know now why I was so reluctant to read this classic: I was stuck in the first three chapters. They let you aimlessly wander around the giant, boring hatching factory where human embryos are kloned and bred in bottles. Was certainly a revolutionary idea in the early 20th century, but today it's only ridiculous: our slaves breed themselves already in abundance - and it's much, much cheaper simply to import them from other places. This story clearly was written before somebody thought about overpopulation and limited ressources. However if you apply this method to cattle, pigs or chicken, you have a shocking similarity to the nowaday state of animal farming.
The end of the third chapter dissolves into slogans, impression morsels, thoughts; the actual story finally starts in the fourth chapter.

I think Huxley was afraid of losing personal individuality in the fast paced world of the future. That's the topic of his dystopy, the kloning and levelling everybody into a functionning number, the loss of own thoughts and empathies. But why this mandatory promiscuity? Sex serves, as you know, the procreation and surviving of the race. When you breed humans in bottles, you don't need sex anymore. Sex should be shunned in a totalitarian world, much too dangerous. Sex would spark emotions and individual needs.

The whole construction was not very convinceable to me. I found it neither unsettling nor funny. It might have to do with the exaggerted cardboard characters, none of which is likeable. Ah well, Huxley isn't the big novelist, he rather tries to sell us a movie script.

PS: I found two things quite funny: the use of the word pneumatic for buxom, sexy and the police handling riots by hosing people with calming drugs instead of tear gas.

PS2: The first chapters were alas vandalised by a moron with felt marker; probably this too increased my dislike.

Took it to the meet-up.
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=^,^= spy