I had the displeasurable honor of reading Brave New World during English 2 honors with the wonderful Bryce Hadley. Till this day, it is by far the worst book I have ever read. In fact, it was so horrible I couldn’t even bring myself to read the book face to face. However, even the audio book was gut-wrenching to listen to.
During English 2 honors, Hadley had us read a plethora of fantastic works of literature: Night, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and Othello. I thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to read books from authors of different backgrounds, cultures, and genres. Not to mention, the discussions and analysis lectures we had about the books during class also paved the way for generating new meaningful perspectives that were applicable to everyday life situations. I particularly enjoyed our discussions during our readings of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm because Hadley always highlighted the different lenses to view books from (historical, physiological, etc.). Although his classroom was colder than Antarctica, I always managed to fight through the freeze and focus on everything we discussed in class because I always managed to learn from it.
I wish I could say the same things about Brave New World.
I must admit, prior to reading the book, I was already biased. Before diving into reading, Hadley always gives a brief summary of the book’s plot, setting, and background of the author. I physically cringed when I heard that Brave New World is a science fiction dystopian novel–my two least favorite genres of all time. Science fiction I will always dislike simply because I do not like science and do not have a well understanding science in general. I adore reading, so reading a book that involves science is a nightmare. On the other hand, dystopian novels are not as bad. I appreciate the amount of effort it takes to write a dystopian novel but personally they are not my cup of tea. Hopefully one day I will read a dystopian novel that will change my opinion.
Despite already having a negative biased perspective towards the book, I realized that I still had to give it a try since you shouldn’t “judge a book by its cover.” Unfortunately, I was terribly wrong.
From children engaging in disturbing sexual activities, weird “orgy-porgy” scenes, to manipulative masters, Brave New World details only the most grotesque images coming from nightmares. Numerous chapters had me questioning my love for reading because I could not fathom how someone could sit down, write this book, and think that it was a genuine book of literate value. Not to mention, the book also switches character perspectives frequently which make it difficult to understand dialogue between characters, the plot, and the overall meaning of the work.
Books are meant to inform readers about important issues and convey relatable themes and messages. Appreciative, I accredit to Aldous Huxley for yearning to warn readers about the dangers of an overpowering government; however, he did not successfully convey his message to the readers because instead of focusing on the theme of the book, readers instead are too sidetracked and disturbed by the elusive imagery in the book. Books should make the reader want to read more and understand the message, not give them nightmares. When a book is so disturbing that it takes away from the meaning as a whole, then the author has truly failed. Truly, I tried so hard to understand the book, but every single page I read, the more my detest grew.
Without a doubt, I will forever have nightmares about Brave New World and will never recommend reading it to anyone. I hate Brave New World.