Rating: Summary: simply a msterpiece Review: this book is made up of 3 parts.the first makes u justifiably hate Alex the prime character and certinly disgussted by his actions he's a murderer a rappist who has no reasons for his violent actions except for the simple fact that he likes doing them.but some part of u realy gets to admire his intelligence and most of all his love for classical music. the second part is the most tragic.after his conditioning has no will to do evil only good...which is fine for society but not for him.here all ur indignation for his previous actions turn into sympathy so u pitty him. "he was a clockworkorange" is the moral of the story.he never had the freedom of choice to do good or bad. but in the last part when our humble narrator gets to decide O my brothers all ur disgust and hatred sympathy and pitty turns into love....what a masterpiece!!
Rating: Summary: Provocative commentary on morality Review: I had heard all of the hype about this book before reading it, and I'm happy to say that the hype is absolutely warranted! Clockwork Orange is this mind-blowing story about the freedom of choice and the consequences of totalitarianism and being trapped in an extremist world. Is being evil on your own terms far better than being good on someone elses?If you're not sure, and you're ready for a thrilling and fast-paced read, "slooshy" me and read this "veshch". You will "veddy" what I mean...
Rating: Summary: Great commentary on the "almight state" Review: Which is the greater evil? Choosing to do wrong, or being forced to do right?
Rating: Summary: futuristic now and futuristic later- a must for future ref Review: we all are alex and dim in this society of peer preasure,and belonging,this impures the fact that the end does not justify the means. and that some well needed parties get theirs in an ironic,humoristic what are ya gonna do for me now? $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ thats what i kinda thought.
Rating: Summary: A vision so terrible its destined to come true Review: This book is quite simply great. It is incredibally well written with a style all its own. It can totally boggle the mind of any who read it. (as long as they understand it - anyone who doesnt would simply think it disgusting) Aspects of this society have already come true, such as the attempt to take everyones ability to make moral choice and flush it down the drain. However, in our case, the ones in charge are trying to get us to think that the bad things are horrorshow (good) and the good are bad. The bottom line is: Anyone who hasn't read this book and doesn't want to deserves a real horrorshow tolchock to the yarbles. (real good kick to the balls) RF
Rating: Summary: superbly intreguing Review: brilliant. burgess exceeds himself. what more could you ask for
Rating: Summary: fantastic, moving, sad, uplifting, ultimately life-affirming Review: I read this book when I was fifteen years old, and it swallowed me whole. I thought in nadsat, mulled the words over until I came to their exact meaning (I had an old library copy with no glossary, which made it even better) and I felt like I had discovered something that no-one else knew about. It belonged to ME, which I feel even now, 4 years later. Loads of people have read it, and I've read their reviews, but I still feel a personal link to the Humble Narrator, and that's the genius of Burgess' writing. He's inspired me to become a writer, too.
Rating: Summary: Strange, moving, sad, and true. Beautiful art! Review: In describing this book to those unknown to it, I get a bit queasy. How can I explain that it is possible for me to empathize with a rapist, a murderer, a child molester, a parent hater? And yet, to me, that is Burgess' genius in this book. When I was requested to follow along with "Our Faithful Narrator," I eagerly submitted with anticipation, to learn where the future would take him. And possibly us. Burgess asks in this novel a question of some simplicity: what is the human species? But his answers are unlike anything I've seen, with apologies to Orwell and Huxley. He first guides us into the mind of an individual criminal. And then he indicts society at large with the criminal manner in which he is handled. Unfortunately for us, true examples of similar means of "bettering" our society are too plentiful to mention (like castration of rapists) and too scary to dwell upon. And then there is the language. It made me chuckle, it made me want more; I wish this book were a 1000 pages longer. One criticism I often have is that novelists poorly finish otherwise good books. This is NOT true of "A Clockwork Orange;" it ends fittingly and true.
Rating: Summary: This book is simply excellent Review: This book is excellent and on so many levels. The slang of the book makes it timeless and so it is as relevant now as when it was written. It also makes the book so alive and so it doesn't exist merely as words on a page. The book is also thought provoking and full of ironies. One of the ironies is that it is civilised people who are meant to listen to classical music and yet here Alex does. Tis is Burgess's response to, perhaps, the fact that the Nazi's were said to have listen to Back and read Goethe. The slang also means people read it differently and that is why there should not be a glossary. People should interpret it all their own way and should think about what they are reading and not be told what to think. It is the same as Chaucer - once you understand the language you become so immersed in the world that the author creates that you almost slip into the slang in everyday speech - much more so than if it was pure English. The book is surely about the capacity to choose and how it is better to have the choice to be bad than being forced to be good. People choose their own path and choose to go to hell their own ways. People must be able to have a fling because that is making a choice. The dark humour also adds to the book but it may be overshadowed by the violence. It is something everyone should read so that they can see what a well-crafted book looks like. Also, and I hope I am not alone here, there is something about Alex that you end up sympathising and empathising with and there is something of alomst a charm (if that is the right word) about him. A truly artful book
Rating: Summary: The slang is brilliant... Review: I agree with the Wisconsin reader that the slang is one the best parts of the novel, giving the futuristic society that very dirty gritty feeling. I have the new edition (no glossary), and I can't see using a glossary for this book. As I was reading it, I would attribute new meanings to undefined words... it makes every chapter a new experience, almost allowing you to mold Alex's point of view as you think necessary. While a glossary may have been helpful at times, I think it would take away a certain interaction with the characters that was (to me) so important to the novel. Also, pay attention to the slang. A lot of the words say a lot about the atmosphere - an example being 'horrorshow', meaning 'incredible' or 'good', which really says a lot about Alex's perception of 'good' in the end. There's a lot of that thrown in there, adding to the brilliance of the novel.
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