Well, reading this book completes my mission to read of the famous 4 dystopian novels (“1984”, “Fahrenheit 451”, “Brave New World” and the often overlooked “The Handmaid’s Tale”).

Where does one start with this book? Just like the other dystopian novels I mentioned, it is absolutely depressing! But then again, depression is sort of the genre’s main goal!

My experience started almost on the wrong foot, so to speak, I felt it only began to pick up in the second half of the book. The first couple of chapters, were especially tiring, they were just full of numbers and statistics I didn’t give a flying fig about. But we can forgive Huxley that because of his world-building.

Like most dystopian literature, it feels very real and relevant today. I mean, the main topics Huxley discusses are consumerism and the rapid advancement of technology #assemblyLine! I don’t think you need to analyze these topics to realize how relevant they are in our societies today.

Huxley also attempts to ask the undying philosophical question: If given the choice, would you choose Freedom or Happiness? In this bizarre society, most people have chosen the latter over the former. Which begs another question: In choosing freedom, are we choosing unhappiness?

I have to admit, I did not enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. But I feel that I must recommend it for its imaginative and philosophical values alone.