I know that Brave New World is a dystopian novel, but it's a world where people know what they're really good at, can take happy drugs that don't have side effects, get to keep their youthful abilities and looks for most of their life, and if they really object to the structure of society, they can move to anywhere on the planet that better suits them.
Mind you, I don't know if I'd do all that well in such a society, but I don't know that I'd do all that well in Japanese society, either.
Anyway, since the book focuses on a couple of people who don't like a highly-structured society, and a person who decides that, rather than move to wherever he'd prefer, it's best to whip himself a lot, I can see that it's still a depressing read.
For me, though, 1984 was so much harder to take, as I kept mentally attempting to find ways out for the character and failing.