The Dystopian Novel

by daniel-p 11 Replies latest jw friends

  • daniel-p
    daniel-p
    falls into the trap of having too many ideas crammed into the book and the characters and narrative are lost in this sea of conceptions that Huxley is trying to get on the page.



    I agree. This problem crops up especially in Point Counter Point. After awhile, you realize that the characters are there to merely push along his ideas. E.B. White said "Advice to young writers who want to get ahead without annoying delays: don’t write about Man, write about 'a' man." Huxley writes about Man, and when reading his books I have to sort of detach myself from the personal, intimate, and intuitive. I think this works with BNW because you are given a view of very warped and screwed-up people, so I know they are not going to act in what I think to be natural ways. For example, the part where Lenina is denied sex with John was very powerful. She didn't even know she was being humiliated, which just shows how there were hardly any normal emotions associated with sexual relations for her.

  • d
    d

    Aldous Huxley is a good writer it just takes time to get to know his writing style.

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