Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - A Clockwork Orange

from what i remember, you really watch Alex develop from being a violent being to a troubled one. The end of the book left me w/ questions and wondering what ever happened w/ Alex and his inner conversation he had w/ himself after seeing his old friends.

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sidekicksam's review against another edition

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medium-paced

5.0

"A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man."

This biblio is full of unfamiliar slovos, so reading it as a malenky bit difficult to pony at first. But as a young, interessovated devotchka, I managed, and it was real horrorshow.

Alex and his banda of droogs go about the town in the nochy, looking for chellovecks to terrorize. When the dratsing and ultra-violence reach a climax in the raskazz, Alex is loveted and sent off to the stripey-hole.

Despite repenting, something sloochats there that made him have to pick: sit out his sentence in the barry place, or get out in 2 weeks after being subject to a new experiment. What he doesn't know is that his jeezny will change forever, and the bitva has just begun...

Ok, if that didn't scare you off, here's the review in plain English:
This tiny, tiny book, took me a while to get through. Mostly because I needed to refer back to the glossary (Nadsat still hasn’t become part of the English language unfortunately), but once I got a grip on the meaning of the words, I flew through it. I won't say too much about the plot because it's 1) so tiny and 2) so popular, I don't want to spoil more of it. It's well worth your effort and time.

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m11cc444's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-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

Did not enjoy this book at all in the first half. Super hard to get used to the new slang and I had a hard time picturing the universe. However, about halfway through I started to enjoy the story/message. Ended with lots of feelings and reflections. Glad I read once- probably won’t reread but good book. ……… A good/interesting message, hard to read book.

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pixelited's review against another edition

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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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hildayay's review against another edition

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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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