A Clockwork Orange in Around the Year in 52 Books

Dec 28, 2018 Ann rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-atw-80, 2019-aty-52

A real horrorshow book, my glazzies were boohooing and all that cow.
Listen to the audiobook, my droogs, and tell me what you think of the additional chapter (IMHO, it feels like a sellout).
- your humble narrator

Category: Author's name contains A, T, Y
Setting: UK 🇬🇧 ...more

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Aug 07, 2020 John Warner rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

When the members of my Goodreads book discussion group selected this dystopian science-fiction novella to read for our classic read, I must admit I was initially reluctant to pick it up. Although I have seen only a few film clips from the movie, I knew that it contained scenes of senseless physical and sexual violence. With the senseless violence that currently exists in many of our country's major cities, I was hesitant to read more of it.

The protagonist of this near-future novel is Alex, a 15- When the members of my Goodreads book discussion group selected this dystopian science-fiction novella to read for our classic read, I must admit I was initially reluctant to pick it up. Although I have seen only a few film clips from the movie, I knew that it contained scenes of senseless physical and sexual violence. With the senseless violence that currently exists in many of our country's major cities, I was hesitant to read more of it.

The protagonist of this near-future novel is Alex, a 15-year leader of a juvenile gang who thrills, almost orgasmicly-so, in the random, almost nightly aggressive forays into citizen homes and businesses engaging in theft and brutal acts of physical and sexual violence. When the murder of an elderly woman occurs, Alex is fingered by a member of his gang, tried and incarcerated. There he is rehabilitated through Pavlovian conditioning to become a model citizen and released.

Initially, I found the juvenile gang's jargon, a Anglo-Russian slang known as NadSat, daunting to read. However, I was able to find a glossary of NatSat terms, which made the reading a bit faster. I also discovered that I could discern the meaning of many of the terms using the context of the surrounding words and sentences. NadSat did add verisimilitude to this juvenile counterculture.

The title of this novel is derived from a situation in which an individual lacks free-will in determining whether to be morally good or evil. As the author proposes in this novel's introduction, an individual who lacks free-will in standing in the light or following the dark path, is nothing more than a "clockwork orange...an organism lovely with color and juice but is in fact only a clockwork toy to be wound up by God or the Devil." The novel addresses a couple of themes. Is an individual a moral creature if he is only behaves properly through external constraints? Is an evil person inherently evil, unable to change, e.g., "the bad seed" or can he be redeemed? (Our Christian orthodoxy believes in free-will and salvation...thank goodness!)

The novella is divided into three parts of seven-chapters each. However, in some publications the final chapter has been cut. I would recommend that, if you read this book, be sure that that your copy contains all twenty-one chapters. I believe Burgess's message is better addressed as originally written. As I said earlier in this review, I was hesitant to read this book; I'm glad finally did. ...more

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Dec 29, 2009 Libscigrl rated it liked it

Shelves: read-2016

A classic tale of Government gone bad....or good?

Alex, the punk 15 year old raper-burglar-murderer is sent to prison where he is used in an experiment to make him averse to violence. Is this fair? Is this right in the name of society? Does it even work? Those are a few of the themes/topics.

While the Nadsat language (think teenage slang) he used throughout the book is initially hard to see past, it does eventually grow on you. Some copies of this book contain a dictionary...I used Wikipedia for a ...more

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May 19, 2016 Kathleen (itpdx) rated it liked it

I have been properly conditioned by society and was very uncomfortable listening to the crimes that Little Alex and his droogs committed. If the intro had not hinted that there was some sort of redemption in the end and I had not committed to reading this, I might have quit. I do not find even Burgess's preferred ending all that positive. Each generation of boys is expected to murder and rape and pillage?
This audio edition is great with the accents and pronunciation of the made up language. It ...more

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May 28, 2010 Richard rated it it was amazing

Man alive this is an awesome book. It's a perfect little creation balancing imagination, reality, philosophy and humor. ...more

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May 23, 2018 Jesse rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-around-the-year, 2018-popsugar

This was a really interesting book. I was not at all familiar with the story, having never seen the movie either, and the first thing that really struck me was the super interesting slang/dialect. I was fascinated by it! It was like a puzzle that I had to figure out a little at a time as the book went on. I really enjoyed the last chapter of the book, which apparently was left out of the first US edition as well as the movie.

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