Aldous Huxley Forum

Aldous Huxley

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Is this the first of his to read?

>>By Adrian (Saturday, 25 Jan 2003 12:59)

where can I find sales figures for Brave New World in the early years of its publication?

>>By nomi (Monday, 24 Feb 2003 00:42)

ýsland is a wonderful world which is hidden from human greed and egos ,shows us what world can be a place without them then world discovers rich sources in that island so thats the end of this utopia

>>By nese ulucakli (Friday, 16 May 2003 20:38)

original thinker, made an absolutely invaluable contribution to the living world during his time here

>>By dean (Friday, 27 Jun 2003 16:40)

Brave New World woke me up even though I was 25 when I read it. A must-read

>>By Aljosha (Tuesday, 1 Jul 2003 22:10)

Doors of Perception should be a must-read for all anti-drug socialists

>>By mad scientist (Thursday, 16 Oct 2003 07:29)

A few months ago I read Brave New World and I was very impressed with it. I just finished reading his book, Chrome Yellow today. It wasn't a "bad" book, honestly it was well written, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Brave New World. I do like how some of the characters shared the vision of the future that Huxley explored in Brave New World. I don't know if I will read Island or Doors of Perception next...

>>By OpheliasViolets (Sunday, 11 Jul 2004 08:05)

I read Brave New World as a background novel when I was studying the similarities and differences between Orwell's 1984 and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale for my English Literature course, and although Huxley's novel contrasts to the blatant dystopian pictures presented by the other two writers, I noticed how I was drawn off on a tangent because of the way in which Communist motifs and themes were abundant in Brave New World. This may seem unusual, but when you analyse the reasons why Communism failed in the USSR, or in fact why the whole principal of Communism is flawed, Huxley's novel (for me) provided an apt solution. If everybody was equal, who has the right to say who should govern who, or have what? But in Brave New World, the sickly, programmed manner of growing people to be CONTENT in their respective class or group eliminates possiblities of rebelling or questioning; futhermore, the way in which all knowledge is retained by individuals such as Mustapha Mond prevents new thoughts or concepts to emerge from the masses as such. This utilitarian mode of keeping persons happy in a guidelined, organised and "fulfilling" lifestyle is a missing piece in the jigsaw of communism which is constantly associated with a poverty-stricken oppression of the "great unwashed". However, the unfortunate way in which this novel is seen as a science fiction piece by some, diminishes the value of observations like this. Subsequently, i refrained from referring to this novel for my final essay due to the confusion it ignited within me, and glorified the oh so ever safe bets when we think about dystopia: Orwell's Animal Farm and Zamyatin's We :)

>>By mathu (Saturday, 24 Jul 2004 20:29)

I am surprised to no mention of what is arguably Huxley's best work - The Perrenial Philosophy. This book single-handedly aroused in me a genuine interest in spirituality and religion, without being 'preachy'. I'd recommend it to everyone!

>>By Obfuscated (Friday, 1 Apr 2005 16:41)

Hm. I still remember the style/feel/tone of After Many a Summer Dies the Swan many, many years after reading it.

>>By takoma library (Sunday, 3 Apr 2005 19:45)

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