Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

18 reviews

pt_barnum's review against another edition

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

cjfooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

You know what, I actually enjoyed this. I got to say - I wasn’t expecting to.
It was one of those books I wanted to read to say I’d read it and to watch the movie, which I know is a cult classic (although tbh I don’t feel the need now). The only other thing I knew about it going in, was that it was very graphically violent - and wow it definitely is, but not in the way you’d expect. 

Firstly, the first part is quite confusing because by this point, not only are you still trying to understand the book’s world and meet characters, but the language is actually its own unique dialect of English. 

They mention it at some point, but it’s the young people slang of this fictional world and includes a lot of Russian-derived words in place of English ones. This means most commonly used nouns and verbs are totally incoherent at the start. But towards the middle and end I actually really enjoyed this part of it and now, after reading, sort of miss listening to it, in the way you might miss hearing an Irishmen speak after visiting Ireland for a week. 

I’m also really glad I read it  for the first time as an audiobook for this reason - I think I understood it quicker and better this way. 

When it comes to all the violence though, it’s dampened considerably by the language factor in a very clever way, never using the words like ‘r*pe’, ‘screaming/crying’ or ‘bl**d’ instead ‘the ol’ in-out-in-out’, ‘screeching’ and ‘krovvy’. Between this and the matter-of-a-fact narration about atrocities from Alex (the main character) i think the point here is to try and make the reader read in Alex’s detached perspective, instead of their own. 
The language does change throughout the book and, man the way it’s written is so a unique, that I can’t help but respect the heck out of it (which is also why I don’t think the movie could ever do it justice). 

Once Alex goes through ‘rehab’, the language he hears and starts using, changes to the ‘ugly’ words we’re used to (I.e. r*pe, etc.) and, this, combined with Alex’s correlated nausea, makes the impact of the violence that much stronger.

In terms of plot, it’s heavily a character development, rather than plot. And seems to be making some sort of a point but I’ll admit - I still don’t really get it.
To me overall, it’s a cleverly written story about morality, cruelty, karma and a very clever use of language. 

I wasn’t expecting to say I’d read this again but I think I would - and would recommend it in certain cases - but only for horror fans (though I wouldn’t actually call this horror) who can stomach a lot of violence in books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Animal death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Rape

greenan26's review against another edition

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

georgwithey's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

A difficult read at first but a classic nonetheless.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Rape, Murder, Bullying, Mental illness, Hate crime, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, and Medical content

minnie_xx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

5.0

interesting. so interesting in style, it draws you in. the story is told in a lighthearted and very self-detracting way and with a serious discussion of the nature of free will in relation to morality. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Sexual assault, Death, Torture, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide attempt, Gore, Police brutality, Violence, Murder, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Addiction, and Alcohol

cosmicruin's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-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

2.75

Challenging to read at times because of the thick langauge

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Blood, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Murder, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Bullying

pixelited's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Despite being quite graphic and somewhat normalizing horrendous acts of violence, the message of this story is clear and insightful. The copy I read included a foreword by the author, which I found very interesting. I didn’t know that the last chapter was excluded during its first publication in the United States and—of course—the book would have taken on a completely different meaning if I had not had the chance to read the final intended chapter. This last chapter is what really brings meaning to this work and sort of ties it in a pretty bow while still acknowledging human tendencies towards violence.

Additionally, while the language was at first disorienting, you’re able to get a grasp on how the words are used quickly. I find this aspect of the book particularly interesting, being part of a younger generation with all sorts of slang, and it makes me wonder how the slang I use today may become a “nadsat” language in other years. I also enjoyed the stark difference when characters speak in proper English and how that plays into the story as well.

Overall, while the nature of the book is disturbing and upsetting, I am glad to have read it and gotten such a perspective on human nature and change.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Murder, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

hildayay's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Hade gett högre betyg om inte för den första tredjedelen av boken som var extremt jobbig att läsa (vilket också är hela meningen men men). Den känns också som att den simplifierar den komplexa sak som är människan på ett sätt som jag inte älskade. Annars: intressant historia, gillar språket som ger stämning (när man väl kom in i den, i början var det asjobbigt att läsa) och ger en en tankeställare kring kriminalpolitik (ish?). Skulle rekommendera, men inte om man är känslig för äckliga saker.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Kidnapping, Rape, Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Police brutality

Moderate: Abandonment, Classism, Misogyny, Medical content, and Alcohol

Minor: Homophobia, Cancer, Addiction, Genocide, and Antisemitism

lizcheyenne's review against another edition

challenging 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Vomit, Torture, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Death, War, Blood, Rape, Alcohol, Murder, Medical trauma, Cursing, and Confinement

nincoompoop's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, and Suicide