Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

41 reviews

theodoreeeeeeads's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a horrorshow vetsch. Lots ittying on with krovvy scenes and gullivers spinning physically and metaphorically, I defo smecked a malenky whilst viddying the pages. A tolchock in the yarbles when it got intense but I do recommend it to all the lewdies!! (this is what the whole book is like hehehe)

Now returning from the Nadsat language to English, wowowoeeee what a book, well-written, thought provoking, funny at moments and with a fantastic plot. The story poses lots of moral dilemmas and philosophical questions.

It’s terrifically dark, the phrase “ultra-violence”, as used many times in reference to gang activities, is very accurate. 

Easy to read classic (except the whole new language lol). Would massively recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Rape, and Torture

konstantly's review

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Murder

pt_barnum's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is easily one of my all-time favorites. It's about nihilism, anarchy, and moral philosophy, all told through the perspective of an ultra-violent psychopath who changes drastically throughout the book. It's truly one of the greatest glimpses into the darkness of the human psyche ever put to page.

The gimmick of ACO is that contains a lot of non-english words, specifically a lot of Russian and Russian-influenced-yet-still-made-up slang, like the word "girl" is rarely used in the book, but the term "devotchka" is used in abundance. This is the biggest barrier to getting into the book, as you have to flip to the appendix to learn every new word. While somewhat frustrating at first, it makes it so much more fun to read once you get the hang of it (I was able to read without the appendix about a third into the book). It makes you connect with the setting so much more as it adds another layer of immersion. Just read it if you can get past all the red flags mentioned below, at least so you can brag that you did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Death, Murder, Body horror, Rape, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Sexual harassment

krosrightboob's review

challenging dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If you can get past the made up goloss (slang) which gets easier the further in you get, this book is an absolute literary masterpiece. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Police brutality, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Murder

thet0meraider's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

31 anni dopo l'uscita di Arancia Meccanica, Anthony Burgess ha detto, in un articolo per The Observer in cui riflette sul ruolo della sua novella nella diffusione della violenza giovanile: "[In the book and movie adaptation] the question was asked: is it permissible to kill free will in order to ensure the stability of society? Not many viewers of the film took notice of the question: most were too excited by the violence to bother about the philosophy of the concept".

E aggunge: "My argument was that action was anterior to art; that aggression was built into the human system and could not be taught by a book, film or play. [...] If one wished to believe that a book could instigate violence, the Bible could be one’s first choice, and yet this was taken to be the Word of God. [...] From the film of A Clockwork Orange youth did not learn aggression: it was aggressive already. What it did learn was a style of aggression, a mode of dressing violence up in a new way, a piquant sauce to season the raw meat of kicks, biffs and razor-slashings".


"Arancia Meccanica" è un romanzo straordinario che affronta temi complessi e sempre attuali con una prosa coinvolgente e innovativa. La storia, ambientata in un futuro distopico (anni '70, con il libro pubblicato nel 1962), segue le vicende di Alex DeLarge, un giovane delinquente immerso in una società violenta e decadente. Uno dei punti di forza del romanzo è sicuramente lo stile linguistico unico, che mescola l'inglese con uno slang che richiama il russo inventato dall'autore, noto come "Nadsat" (letteralmente, "adolescente", nella lingua del romanzo), arricchendo così la narrazione con una profondità e una vivacità impareggiabili.

Il tema centrale del conflitto tra libero arbitrio individuale e controllo sociale è trattato in modo magistrale, portando il lettore a riflettere sulle implicazioni morali delle azioni di Alex e sul ruolo della società nel plasmare il comportamento umano. La narrazione è avvincente e incalzante, mantenendo costantemente l'attenzione del lettore e offrendo spunti di riflessione profondi e stimolanti.

Ho trovato straziante, dall'inizio alla fine, la volontà di Alex si essere cattivo, punto e basta. Il ragazzo, appena quindicenne, non fa del male per ribellarsi al mondo - lo fa perché gli piace, ne gode, lo fa sentire al settimo cielo. E questo, devo dirlo, mi ha profondamente scossa. Non solo: finché rimane un ragazzo, Alex non ha intenzione di redimersi. Anzi.

Ci sono stati dei momenti in cui il mio metro morale mi ha portato a sentirmi in pena per Alex: vedere un ragazzino che piange per sé stesso, estremamente infelice, non è mai piacevole. Eppure le sensazioni altalenanti che ho provato nei confronti del protagonista devono portarmi anche a ragionare su di me, sulle mie credenze. Mi sono scoperta a provare godimento nel sapere Alex sottoposto alla cura riabilitativa forzata. Ho gioito nel sapere che non sarebbe più stato in grado di fare del male, anche se sotto forzatura, e nel constatare che la punizione era doppiamente efficace, perché ha rimosso anche il piacere che il ragazzino provava nell'ascoltare musica classica - peraltro con una spocchia davvero insopportabile.
Ho però anche sofferto per lui in diverse occasioni: nel vederlo usato e strumentalizzato da diverse fazioni politiche; nel saperlo respinto dalla famiglia (anche se se lo merita! Questa dualità, argh!) e solo e, per una volta, forse ingiustamente picchiato dalla brutale polizia (o magari, ancora, se lo è meritato per tutte le brutte azioni fatte in passato! Aaaaargh). Persino delle tendenze suicide mi sono dispiaciuta, pur restando dell'opinione che se la sia cercata.

Il romanzo trova una degna conclusione, a parer mio. Se si fosse chiuso diversamente, su una nota ancora negativa dopo tutto quello che abbiamo visto nel corso del romanzo, forse non lo avrei apprezzato così tanto.
Forse la cura è davvero solo la maturazione, forse basta solo davvero diventare grandi.

Sono davvero molto contenta di aver affrontato questa lettura. Sono arrivata senza aspettative e me ne sono andata arricchita, stimolata, piena di riflessioni da compiere sul mondo e, soprattutto, su di me. 

Consigliato!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Kidnapping, and Violence

shoohoob's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I definitely should have read this instead of listened, but the audiobook narrator kinda ate 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Drug use, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Torture, and Toxic friendship

alext8086's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I felt like the slang language the main character uses is a bit over the top. I also feel like most of the book is just him doing awful things. I love the second half of the book, though, when he doesn’t get to be an absolute villain all the time. When he is just being his normal awful self, I did not love the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Blood, Bullying, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Drug use, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Vomit

omega_mak13's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Violence, Sexual harassment, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Rape, and Misogyny

greenan26's review

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Pedophilia, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Medical trauma

Minor: Vomit, Antisemitism, and Racial slurs

christian_g's review

dark reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I would highly advise avoiding this book if you are sensitive to violence or sexual assault because there is a lot of it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Sexism