Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion
Help....with A Clockwork Orange
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Oh yes! It is a searing social commentary that everyone should read! I LOVED it. Pretty soon you will start thinking in that language...sort of. My book had a glossary of the slang at the end so you might have an easier time with a copy that has that. It's easy to pick up on though! I hope you enjoy it!
Commentary my patutie, it's trash, always has been trash and always will be trash. Some people like junk. One has only to listen to what's being played on the radio these days to figure that out. This book is total hogwash. I was forced to read it for an English class. It was trash then and still is. It should not be fostered on anyone. Kubrick was a lunatic, this is his psychotic ramblings.
Kubrick is the director of the movie version. The author was Burgess...just in case you wanted to know.
Thank you all for your commentary. I shall continue on
Hey Kim, I think i posted to you on myspace about this one..... (i forget with all the threads i hit... ugh!)I read the book a few months back for the 1st time, and once you get 5 or 6 pages into it, you have basically seen all his slang. If you need help with any of it, message me and ill help you out. my copy did not have the glossary in the back, but i was able to pick up his meanings as i went along. Rookers are his fists/hands, Rot is mouth... ect....
It is definetly well worth the read, the farther you get into it, the harder it is to put down!
Good luck with it.
btw, what copy do you have? Is it the one with the additional ending, or the old version?
I have to disagree with Dave's opinion. A Clockwork Orange is not junk. Absolutely read the complete book - it should have 21 chapters. The last chapter, which was omitted in the original American edition, totally changes the book's impact.The version I read had a glossary, but even without one it should be fairly easy to pick up the meaning of the slang words. I found the violence much harder to stomach, yet it's an integral part of the book.
OOPS my bad, oh well they were both lunatics. Kubrick ruined 2001 a space odessey The book was actually pretty good. The movie was a couple chapters of the whole book.
Opinions vary. I like books to make sense. I don't want to struggle with reading them. I read at about 500 words a minute on most things, with that, its like a couple pages an hour. To me, it sucks. It might not to others. I'm not a fan of far out stuff anyway. I don't much care for most sci-fi either. In my opinion any book that is that difficult to read, shouldn't be read. Had I a choice at the time, I would never have read more than a couple of pages. It should make sense, go from point a to point b in a way you can follow. An occasional twist or turn to liven it up, not a succession of them that makes you carsick.
I have rethought this. The question that you must answer is why are you reading it? If you are reading for pleasure but getting none, don't continue reading it. There are many great books that go unread. Some darn fool makes a name for himself, and people buy into it. This book reminds me of Picasso. He used to really paint. He made no money at it. He started doing the weird stuff, he got famous and made money, even though it really isn't very good. His "good" paintings he couldn't hardly give away, but the crap sold. This situation is pretty much the same deal. Crap is crap, what critics and so forth say doesn't change that. Anything that is such a struggle to read certainly isn't enjoyable. If it's not, why bother.
I've been very curious to read this book. I didn't know there are two versions. When did the version with the ending Burgess wanted come out? I think I would like to read that version. I have not seen the movie. I am curious about reading this book because we had a murder case back in 1998/99 where the two alleged murderers/kidnappers said that A Clockwork Orange was their inspiration for the crime they committed. They said they read the book and studied the movie and then devised a plan for the kidnapping and sexual assault of a young woman and came up with a "type" of victim they wanted to attack; unfortunately the murder was added to the plan at the last minute. I want to know what happens in this book that would make a 21 year old man and a 23 year old man want to kidnap and attack a 22 year old woman as she was entering her apartment building.So, I understand from Dave that the book and movie were not very good (I'm also not a Kubrick fan), but what about everyone else? Would the rest of you suggest just reading the book and not seeing the movie OR read the book first then see the movie? My curiosity has been peaked for years.
I saw the movie a long long time ago, prior to reading the book. I dont think i was quite ready for it, as really, all i remember from the movie is that i didnt like it. I read the book for the 1st time this summer, and tho it takes a few pages to get into the swing of the narrators made-up lanuage, I thought it was a very captivating book. I recommend reading it first, then seeing the movie.
Its definetly worth trying at least.
I agree with Dave with his question on why you are reading it. I'm on this quest to read the "classics" and I pretty much killed myself getting through Wuthering Heights (which, by the way, I hated). It was also picked for my book club so I thought I would kill two birds (so to speak). The only thing I can say about the fact I read the book is that I read the book. I did not gain a single thing from it. BUT, for me, the goal was to have completed reading the book, so it wasn't a complete waste. But seeing how there are tons of books out there and we have only so many minutes in a day, some books are simply not worth the trouble. There is the belief that there are too many good books out there to waste a minute on a bad one.But as to the story itself, I really enjoyed it. We read it for my college English class and saw the movie as well. It is a searing social commentary and asks provoking questions that can be applied easily to today's issues (such as the cost of freedom and how much do individual rights outweigh the safety of the group)...once you get past all the sex and violence. I hope you can finish it. I would think there would be tons of reading guides on the web to help you understand the difficult parts better.
It's difficult, but the more you read it, the easier it will get. You'll start getting the hang of the syntax and unusual vocabulary.I think it's worth it.
Kim