Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - A Clockwork Orange

Imagine the worst, most violent trip you’ve ever had to get the importance of free will across. That’s this book.
More intellectual thoughts:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/15583067

Content Warnings

perth_is's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense fast-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

4.5

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basti's review against another edition

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Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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cjfooks's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

supremedemon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective tense fast-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

3.25

A disturbing story. The 21st chapter (omitted in some publications) is a must and ties the book together. Uses a lot of Russian-based slang, so it's easier to read if you know some Russian.

Content Warnings

omega_mak13's review against another edition

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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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greenan26's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

esihler's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

2.5

I can understand why this book is “in the canon” and still think it is worth trying to read. In general, once I got more of a grip on the nadsat, I was interested in seeing the book to its end.

While the book did have interesting themes, I struggle with the use of violence (especially sexual violence) to develop themes around government control and the importance of personal freedom without really including any significant female characters beyond the context of sexual violence. It was a very uncomfortable read, made even more so by the distance you feel from the story while trying to get a grip on the language.

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