CostasNarrativeXP 2026 New Year feature
"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Published in February 1932
In a genetically-engineered utopia where comfort is mandatory and individuality is extinct, the World State maintains total stability at the cost of the human soul.
Chapter 12-14
00:27 12 Bernard’s party collapses when John refuses to appear, ruining Bernard’s popularity. Helmholtz faces censure for a poem on solitude and is inspired when John reads Shakespeare to him.
23:03 13 Lenina pursues John, arrives determined, he professes idealized love but rejects sex, insults her, she hides, then an urgent call sends him away.
42:31 14 John visits his dying mother, Linda, but her drug-induced confusion and "death-conditioned" children haunt him. Linda dies in traumatic distress.
Characters
Director of D.H.C - The authoritative figure who leads the student tour and explains the technical "birth" process
Henry Foster - The Director's assistant and a high-caste Alpha who is obsessed with statistics and the efficiency of the hatchery
Lenina Crowne - A Beta-minus worker on the assembly line, specifically the "Embryo Store", who is described as uncommonly pretty
Mustapha Mond - Resident World Controller for Western Europe, sophisticated superior leader who enforces social stability through censorship while secretly possessing forbidden knowledge
Bernard Marx - An Alpha-Plus specialist in Hypnopaedia whose physical stuntedness causes him to feel like a social outcast
Fanny Crowne - A Beta technician in the Bottling Room who acts as a strictly orthodox representative of the World State’s social rules
Helmholtz Watson - Alpha-plus lecturer and writer, is admired and impressive but secretly frustrated by the emptiness of his work and the World State
Linda - John’s mother, originally from the World State, whose inability to adapt back exposes the cruelty and emptiness beneath its comforts
John (the Savage) - Born on the Reservation and raised outside the World State, shaped by isolation and Shakespeare, he embodies moral seriousness and conflict with "civilized” values
Costa's Wordbook
Wheedle v use flattery or coaxing in order to persuade someone to do something or give one something
Carotene n an orange or red plant pigment found in carrots and many other plant structures. It is a terpenoid hydrocarbon with several isomers, including beta-carotene (Caro teen)
Collation n a light informal meal (col Lay tion)
Ethiop n arch. ethiopian; black-skinned person (Ee thee op)
Egeria - a nymph who served as a wise counselor and spiritual adviser to King Numa Pompilius, Rome’s second king
Harbinger n a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another
Capulet - the noble family in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Juliet belongs to the House of Capulet, and Romeo belongs to the House of Montague. Their families are locked in a "bloody feud."
Tybalt - Juliet's cousin. He fights Romeo to defend his family's honor, and is killed by Romeo. His death is a major turning point that leads to Romeo's banishment and the eventual double suicide of the lovers.
Jim-jams n a fit of depression or nervousness; pyjamas
Mwanza-Mwanza - Mwanza City, Tanzania
Trypanosomiasis n a parasitic disease caused by Trypanosoma parasites, leading to African sleeping sickness in humans (Trippen no so Mya sus)
Rakishly adv in a confidently careless and informal way
Blackamoor n derog. a black African or a very dark-skinned person
Abstemious adj indulging only very moderately in something, especially food and drink (ab Steam me ous)
Fitchew n arch. Polecat, a kind of weasel; slang in Shakespeare for prostitutes (Fit chew)
Fie excl. Arch. used to express disgust or outrage
Parley v hold a conference with the opposing side to discuss terms (Par ly)
Wurlitzer - The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, or simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853, producing pianos
Verbena n a chiefly American herbaceous plant which bears heads of bright showy flowers, widely cultivated as a garden ornamental, purple in colour (ver Been na)
Sexagenarian n a person who is between 60 and 69 years old (Sexa gen nare rian)
Pailful n the quantity that fills a pail (bucket)
Ordure n excrement, dung (Or dure)
Paradisal adj (of a place or state) ideal or idyllic, heavenly (Para dye sal)
Complete Features
Count of Monte Cristo, Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations
Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content
Patreon: costasaudiobook
Podcast: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon Music, Firstory, Pocket Casts, KKBOX, Noice, Podcast Addict, SoundOn
