A Clockwork Orange

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, better book.
Review: Very rarely do I enjoy reading the book rather than watching the movie, but with A Clockwork Orange, it was quite the opposite. Having seen the movie first (and loving it), I knew what to expect from the book, but I had no idea that it would leave me feeling like the movie was not nearly as good as I thought before. The book is beautifully written, with the young Droogs own language that is confusing at first, but soon becomes easy to follow. Burgess portrays the world of the young criminal in such a way that rather than being disgusted, I was very interested in continuing with the story. By the end, I even felt bad for him. Any book that can make me feel bad for a boy who enjoys rape, murder, and crime in general must be very well written. What I enjoyed most about the book was the fact that it left so much to the imagination. While the movie showed scenes and settings such as the woman with the cats' house and her attack, the book merely described them, which allows the reader to come up with his/her own mental picture. I found myself picturing things very differently from the movie, which I love. Overall, this was an excellent book and I am overly impressed by Anthony Burgess's writing.

Rating:
Summary: A real horrorshow of goodies
Review: The lyrical narrative in this book was what captivated me most, my brothers. This includes the unrivalled originality in Burgess' nadsat language. The story really captured the often destructive self-absorption and invulnerable feeling of youth -- the ability to act without fearing the consequences, and even when suffering the consequences, caring very little if at all about one's own part.

The introduction, in which Burgess harped on about the excluded 21st chapter of the American version prior to 1986 had me curious. I think that the book without the final chapter, the way it was captured in the movie, is in fact better. Burgess makes an important point about the final chapter, yet I found it didactic and perhaps with the least flow of any in the rest of the book.

Still, this is an excellent book, and well worth a read for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Realisticly Disturbing
Review: The novel A Clockwork Orange written by Anthony Burgess is a disturbing but realistic view of the world. The main character, Alex, is a violent teenager who enjoys bringing pain to other humans. He is not scared by the law or threat of jail time. The only action that has any affect on Alex also takes away his free will. Through the treatment Alex is turned into a zombie and can no longer think for himself nor can he act on his thoughts. Eventhough the treatment turns Alex into a non-violent human he is no longer his own person. The question that came to my mind while reading the book was, is it better to be forced into being a good person, or be yourself?

Rating:
Summary: Clockwork Orange as as shocking view of reality
Review: Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange tells the horroring tale of young Alex as he partakes in acts of ultra-violence and his reform which sends him right back to his evil ways. The novel presents the question of: Is it better to be made to be good or is it better to have the choice of being good? Anthony Burgess attempts to portray the extreme of youth and the capability of it's evil, but he is also able to show more than simply the aspect of evil, he shows the human side also. Our narrator enjoys Beethoven and by this we see that he has intrests common to our own, not just that of crime. This book was so well written using a unique dialect which Alex himself creates. The reader soon becomes accustomed to this language and is able to sit back enjoy an extremely thought-provoking book which will send you off with a renewed hope for mankind.

Rating:
Summary: First-person narrative enhanced this read
Review: I saw the movie first and was blown away by how disturbing and real it was. While it is true that I and many others have been de-sensitized to violence, the book delves into a different kind of violence. I guess what scared me after reading A Clockwork Orange was that we do not really know why Alex was "evil". Alex would do his thing every night, come home to sleep, then in the morning, gets up and eat breakfast and usually goes to school. What is up with this guy?

Usually when you see movies or read books that involve killings and other types of violence, you can always trace the reason to a person or an event that happened previously. Even in the Columbine shootings and others like it, the kids had reasons and they acted out this anger.

But in A Clockwork Orange, Alex chose this evil. This freaks me out. It's not I find the other type acceptable, but when shoud people ever have a choice between a good and evil lifestyle?

Anyway, the book was good. It took me like 15 minutes to read the first three pages because of the Nadsat language. Make a printout of the words and keep it on hand when reading. The first-person narrative was great and I do think the movie makes the book better because you don't quite get all the emotions of Alex out of the book. For example, you can hear him laugh and giggle during a rape scene in the movie - something you can never get from a book even if you have a great imagination. Then reading about his trip to the chair to watch the films - wow - it was described so well - you actually had to feel for the guy.

I did get a little turned off by the politics - maybe that is because I always get turned off by politics. But this book was great!!

Rating:
Summary: a linguistic paradise, a futuristic hell
Review: This is one of my favorites. A linguistic classic, brilliantly written. I recommend this copy for, while it has no glossary, it does have the final chapter. American publishers who forced the 20 chapter copy of this book, did the world an injustice. The book, and subsequently, the movie is incomplete, and dare I say void of something. This is the something: Alex, our protagonist, is just that, and any understanding reader knows this but may not know why. How can we know when a novel and a film start and end in the same place? The final chapter fulfills this need for closure, thus transforming Alex into a round character, rather than a flat one, incapable of change. My only critiscism with this novel (including the final chapter) is that, at the end, like at the end of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, we see conformity, for, in my view, no reason. Not to give it away, I will just discuss the part in question. Before Alex becomes a "Clockwork Orange," he tells the reader that he loathes what is, in their society, pop music, and prefers "Ludwig Van" (Beethoven). The changes in the last chapter, has him abandon his earlier passion, in place of "tamer" music. This bothers me; perhaps i have misinterpreted this, but to me it makes a comment about civility and music.

Anyway, this is one of my favorite novels. It is a brilliant Pavlovian study of psychology (why we do what we do and what can control that) and the philosophy of free will, as well as the conflict between the proponents of free will and law enforcement and psychiatry. You will not read this book without having a lot to think about well after you close the pages of this book.

Rating:
Summary: Are YOU A Clockwork Orange?
Review: Well, are you a clockwork orange? Luckily, for you, there are no clockwork oranges in the world. What exactly is a clockwork orange? A clockwork orange is nature on a set course. That course maybe either good or evil, when we are talking about humans. Consider an orange, rich and sweet and full of juice. However, if it is a clockwork orange, it can be nothing else but rich and sweet and full of juice because it has no choice. And so goes the meaning within Anthony Burgess' classic, A Clockwork Orange.

This novel tells us of a horrible world, where moral truth remains hidden behind shots of ultra-violence, the old in-and-out(sex, that is), and cup of moloko(milk) with knives(drugs) in it. The main protagonist, Alex is a victim of such moral loss. He talks in a language called Nadsat, which is a mixture of Russian, slang, and Medieval English. He rapes women, and steals from corner shops. He and his droogs(friends) lurk the night, filling the streets with blood, screams, and drugs. Yet, he still has taste, for he has a weakness for classical music, especialy Beethoven. Havock reaks through the world to the tone of Beethoven's Choral Symphony, until one night, he is betrayed by his friends, and is caught by the millicents(police). He is jailed, beaten, and eventualy brainwashed. He is turned into a clockwork orange who has no choice but to do good. However, he goes back to his old ways.

Many people read the novel with hate. I, surprizingly, could not hate this Alex. He was only a victim of the world he was brought into. He chose the path of evil, but grew out of it in the end. He is not a truly evil person, rather and immature one.

The novel has great underlying meaning. We ask ourselves of our world, is it better to force one to do what is considered 'good' or is it better to choose good of our own free will? You must ask yourself this as you read the novel, and answer it when you finish.

This particular U.S. edition contains the previously unpublished 21st chapter. This chapter was included in the U.K. edition, and in all translations, but it was discarded by the U.S. publishers and by Stanley Kubrick who directed the film version. In this chapter, Alex grows up and matures. He finds that he no longer pines for violence, varies his music interests, and wants to have sex for a different reason. This is the chapter where he matures. The number 21 used to represent comming of age, or maturity. This is the chapter where Alex suffers these symptoms.

This edition also includes Burgess' wonderful introduction, A Clockwork Orange Resucked. It tells of what Burgess himself thought about this book. He writes to the reader that he had feelings for the book, but wants his other works to achieve more stardom, too. He tells us why the last chapter was not included in the original. He tells us what he, himself, feels a Clockwork Orange represents, and why he wrote the book. He tells us how he feels about his characters, and the last chapter. This is a wonderful reference to have. We no longer have to wonder what Burgess meant in writing such a book. He tells it to us, without us having to ask.

This book is, in fact, a classic. However, one thing that may keep the reader confused is the fact that the entire story is told in Nadsat. It keeps the violence less graphic in our minds, but also prevents us from getting through the novel at a confortable pace. This is solved, however, if you find a Nadsat glossary that has the meanings of the Nadsat words. It can be found at the official website. (www.clockworkorange.com)

Overall, this is a wonderful book, not to be outdone for quite a while. It is a wonderfuly, thoughtful book. Bear with the Nadsat language, violence, and sex, and you are in for one of the greatest rides of your life! So, "What's it going to be then, eh?"

Rating:
Summary: One of the best...
Review: I read this book a couple of years ago, and to say that it scared and thrilled me is almost an understatement. Burgess' use of language is fantastic, creating a slang that's as disturbing as it is confusing. The story itself is especially interesting for the times we live in. The only thing I disliked was the added final chapter. It seemed to be tacked on, even though it was originally in the text. That's why this only gets 4 of 5 stars. Aside from that, it's one of my favorite books of all time. ^_^

Rating:
Summary: Wholesome it's not!
Review: Okay I admit it, like another reviewer before me, I was drawn to the books' sadistic side. If someone bans a book I sometimes have to find out WHY? In my high school about ten years ago, we were not allowed the choice to choose books such as "Catcher in the Rye", "Clockwork Orange", or "American Psycho". I am 26 now and yes I became too curious and read them all. Definitely didn't make me a bad person. Would, (if I had) a 13 year old, allow he/she to read it too? Of course. Banning books just makes youth more curious. Anyway, I liked "Clockwork Orange". It was wild to say the least. I was instantly attracted to the use of an almost "foreign " sounding language the boys used amongst themselves. I myself often wake up from dreams and realize that in them I was speaking in an unknown tongue....one my mind had created on its own. The first few chapters are hard to understand but once you memorize a few words here and there the lingo becomes more clear. Alex and his friends are delinquents. They drink "milk" which I immediately recognized as their drug of choice. They beat up old people without reason. They rape and even kill. They live vicariously, showing no conscience or remorse. They almost remind me of "Jack" and his pig-hunting pack from "Lord of the Flies"-Just living on pleasure and animal instinct. I failed to finish reading "Clockwork Orange", not because I didn't find it a modern masterpiece, but because the violence was more hard to stomach than some Stephen King novels. I finished at the point where Alex was kept in a "hospital" in attempts to reform him. These scenes in the book often brought back memories of Michael Crichton's "the Terminal Man". If you read the book I know you understand. Someday I hope to stomach the book in its whole-even the edition with the exta chapter. I would give it the five stars I know it deserves, but I gave only three until I finish it someday cover to cover.

Rating:
Summary: A real tolchock in the yarbles, O my brothers
Review: Fans of the vastly overrated Ayn Rand will no doubt disagree with me here, but _A Clockwork Orange_ may be the most remarkable man-against-the-State novella ever published. What Rand couldn't do by projecting her cardboard "heroes," Anthony Burgess succeeds in doing by projecting a thoroughly depraved teenager and forcing you to root for him anyway. It's not every author who can make you watch a bunch of gratuitous sex'n'violence and _then_ conclude that even great moral depravity trumps behavioristic psychology and mechanistic determinism.

What "protagonist" (or Your Humble Narrator, at any rate) Alex does in the first half of the novel will make you ill. But what the State does to him to "cure" him makes his nadsat gang violence seem almost . . . well, "innocent" isn't quite the right word, but the fact that I'm even thinking of that word is an indication of Anthony Burgess's power.

For Burgess, the important thing is moral choice, and the possibility of choice entails the possibility of evil. Once Alex has been "reformed" by the very latest techniques of behavioristic science, it's no longer even _possible_ for him to be moral -- and that's somehow more horrible than any of his own horrible acts.

But Burgess stops short of making volition an object of idolatry. In the first place, he doesn't make any argument that Alex's actions were somehow "good" merely because he had _chosen_ them; quite the contrary. In the second place, even though Alex bears the full blame for all his depraved actions, there are hints scattered throughout the novella that if he weren't living in a "socialist paradise," he just wouldn't have been acting this way in the first place. (For example, both his parents are required by law to work full-time. They also seem curiously unwilling to discipline their son, or even inquire what it is he does when he goes out at night.)

I read this book twenty years ago in an edition that had something this one lacked: a glossary. I thought I was going to miss it, but I didn't; Burgess is a fine writer and anticipates his readers' needs very nicely. If the meaning of one of his Russian-import slang terms isn't obvious from context, he works in a definition. (And there are a few glossaries available online anyway.)

The earlier edition also lacked something this one has: a twenty-first chapter. I hadn't read this before -- it was left out of the American edition of the book and therefore out of Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation as well -- but to my mind it makes a better ending for the book.

Sure, as Burgess himself admits, it's a little crude; we never actually _see_ Alex develop into an adult, we just suddenly learn at the end that he's growing up and becoming ashamed of his past actions. But the novel wouldn't be complete if Burgess hadn't introduced that final bit of irony: after all the State's torturous efforts to "reform" the poor misguided youth, in the end he just sort of, well, got over it.

Other readers may have different opinions -- and according to Burgess's delightfully snarky introduction of 1986, that's okay with him. And he almost sounds resigned to the fact (for it probably is a fact) that of all his thirty-two novels -- not to mention his nonfiction (including a fine exposition of James Joyce released in the UK as _Here Comes Everybody_ and in the US as _Re Joyce_) and a whole bunch of music -- in the end it's this book for which he will be universally remembered.

He may be right that it isn't his best work, and he's undoubtedly right that it's a bit preachy. But it's undoubtedly the book for which I myself will remember him. And I'll make no appy polly loggies for that, O my brothers, for it's a horrorshow good book with the impact of an oozy across the glazzies, and no mistake. Unlike the one-dimensional abstraction "John Galt," this malchick and his droogs deserve a place in literary history.