I just finished listening to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley read by the veteran British actor Michael York. I think I dismissed it when I read it in a college English literature class. I thought it was just fancy speculation, excessively sensational, and I did not have much time to think about it then, having four or five other classes demanding my time. It still has an excessive quality, but I find it more disturbing now. I read about the expanding abilities of medical science every day. The scenario does not seem so far fetched. Genetic engineering, cloning, chemical mood modification, the social emphasis on entertainment, and the erosion of civil liberties are issues today. Brave New World is a nightmare of how it might all turn out.
I enjoyed listening to Michael York. At times I imagined he was throwing his whole body into the reading, making faces and gesturing. He is an energetic reader. Listeners can not fall asleep.
I think audiobooks of the classics circulate as well as recent fiction in my library. I recommend this title for all public libraries.
Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. Auburn, California: Audio Partners, 2003. ISBN 1572703024 7 discs, 8 hours 20 minutes
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I was never that impressed with Brave New World. Better are the earlier novels like Time Must Have a Stop, Point Counter Point, and one that is not mentioned too much, After Many A Summer Dies the Swan. Brave New World was meant, I think, to be didactic and has a wooden quality. He pulls his literary punches.
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