I think ‘This Perfect Day’ surpasses a lot of them too. Some books just don’t shine for others as much as we’d like.
That said, I struggle to think of an example where I’ve seen a discussion of dystopian works that didn’t include Brave New World. 1984 is typically at the top of the list, B ave New World #2, and ‘the rest’ filling out however long the list is. Saying it isn’t widely known is not my experience.
Personally I found Brave New World to be pretty dull and difficult to get through.
1984’s setting also matched the tone of a lot of the post war world at the time it was published (1949) moreso than Brave New World did in 1932 heading into the depression. I imagine more folks identified with Winston Smith than did John during the first decade after their publication. Even if they didn’t live through the Blitz or have to endure heavy rationing during the war, it was common to have seen about it as a GI or in newspapers. Reading about someone living in a Utopian society and being unhappy with it just hits different after your family just lost their home in the depression.
I think ‘This Perfect Day’ surpasses a lot of them too. Some books just don’t shine for others as much as we’d like.
That said, I struggle to think of an example where I’ve seen a discussion of dystopian works that didn’t include Brave New World. 1984 is typically at the top of the list, B ave New World #2, and ‘the rest’ filling out however long the list is. Saying it isn’t widely known is not my experience.
Personally I found Brave New World to be pretty dull and difficult to get through.
1984’s setting also matched the tone of a lot of the post war world at the time it was published (1949) moreso than Brave New World did in 1932 heading into the depression. I imagine more folks identified with Winston Smith than did John during the first decade after their publication. Even if they didn’t live through the Blitz or have to endure heavy rationing during the war, it was common to have seen about it as a GI or in newspapers. Reading about someone living in a Utopian society and being unhappy with it just hits different after your family just lost their home in the depression.