A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess’s nightmare vision of the future, where the criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends’ social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the … meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex to “redeem” him, the novel asks, “At what cost?” This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition and Burgess’s introduction “A Clockwork Orange Resucked.”
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I’m a bit reflective of my feelings about the book. I saw the film a long time ago, and I loved it, but I think if I had not seen the movie before reading the book, I would have had a hard time understanding what was going on in the story, yet the idea is brilliant, and I liked the end of the story.
This book is probably a classic, and one that I think a lot of people should read. But before we delve into the book itself, I’d just like to point out that Anthony Burgess used to live in Malta and that he left because the clergy pissed him off, and if that isn’t one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard I don’t know what is.
I’m sure you must …
What is the at the core of human beings? And do rebellion and crime and violence really recede with age? And how ought society deal with it to make sure crime, especially violent crime, stops?–anything that works, even if it’s ruthless, or immoral? This book will make you think, and it is rivetting to the end. Of course whether you get the …
A real horroshow tolchock to the yarbles my droogs.
Anthony Burgess has written the most unusual coming of age novel that I have ever read. I wont go into the ending, I will leave that for you to read, but a coming of age novel it is, set against a backdrop of callous, impersonal violence and lust, where human beings pick at each other the way …
I loved it. At first I found the language very difficult, thinking it would be too difficult to continue. But once you learn the handful of nouns, verbs, and adjectives that come up most often, it becomes much easier. It actually becomes part of the charm, being able to intuit so much of the dialogue from context, and it gives the story such …
It’s an odd book, but I really liked it.
Stunningly original, this book exists in its own unique, twisted universe and drags you in until you feel you live within its depraved depths too. This kind of writing talent takes my breath away and I would urge any voracious reader to pick it up; it shines in a book world where so much is derivative. Amazing stuff – even if it isn’t to your …
This book was incredible and disturbing. What made the greatest impression on me were the acts of violence and later the state-run reconditioning. This book is certainly thought-provoking and the author truly brought these frightening characters to life. Great fiction should always be thought-provoking and this book definitely made me question the …
To read it with any meaning, you will need to reference the dictionary at the back of the book.
I saw the movie first, and by no less of an auteur than Stanley Kubrick. Needless to say, the book had large shoes to fill. Which it actually did. Magnificently.
Gritty and very similar to the movie, I found the book entertaining despite foreknowledge of its trajectory.
The heavy slang the characters converse in was confusing and annoying at …
Burgess has a way of making a hateful character like Alex likable. Although short, this book takes a lot of thinking to really get under the skin of its post-modernistic themes. Do we as humans have the right to play “God”? Are good choices good if they are forced? What is the point to life without freewill?
I have mixed feelings about A Clockwork Orange. It is, as a whole, a frighteningly good tale. It is excellently written and Anthony Burgess does a phenomenal job of putting the reader in that situation…of making us feel what regular citizens feel in this alternative reality/world/place. But it is absolutely brutal in some of the worst ways. I …
EXCELLENT- BUT – Very, VERY hard to read. Still, it’s one you have to take a run at. A few pages in (and it takes AT LEAST that, for some – me included- takes much longer) when you do start to understand the slang /language, and you will, It is a really riveting read.
Wow. This book blew my mind when I read it in high school. I was halfway through it before I realized there was a glossary in the back. Burgess is a master of language, the use of first person narrative with all it’s glorious slang is astonishing. Alex is a tragic anti-hero, did he get what he deserved? How far can/should society go to protect …
I read this book about a decade ago and decided it was time to pick it up again—I’m pleased about that decision!
This book can be a little intimidating at first because of the language. Our protagonist, antihero Alex, and his friends speak in slang that takes some getting used to. It’s a mix of Cockney rhyming, Russian, and others I’m not …
This book takes dedication, you will learn over 100 Dr. Seuss styled words as you delve deeper and deeper into this dark, twisted world. Its a short book that’s bursting with meaning, is thought provoking, disturbing and oh so interesting. I Highly recommend this book.