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stargazerave's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I'll preface this review with the following: I've never seen the film and have limited exposure to Kubrick's works in general so I went into this novel relatively blind. I'd only heard of the film by name with no real explanation as to what it was about, making my first experience with Burgess' work a standout and leads me solidly into the camp of wishing the final chapter had been included in the film.
A Clockwork Orange is, at its core, a story about morality. We begin the novel with our protagonist, Alex, and his gang of lackies. Immediately from the jump, you're completely immersed in their world as Burgess spares no moment to explain anything from the setting to the distinct dialect we see used throughout the book's pages. To say I found it a touch hard to follow in the beginning would be an understatement. This, however, ended up adding to my overall takeaway from the novella. Bear with me, we'll get there. Spoilers to follow.
This all changes however when Alex is arrested for the murder of an elderly woman and it is here that Burgess' delicate dance with morality begins. We see a short bit of Alex's time in prison, generally with the theme that he'll serve his years and then get back to how his life was before, though he exhibits a newfound enjoyment for the Bible and religion during his time behind bars. Burgess truly begins to challenge the reader's moral compass when Alex is taken into a State Center for Prison Reform.
There is really only one way I could describe Alex's 'treatment' in guise of reform. Alex is tortured and Burgess lays all out to bear. The question then becomes this. Does Alex's former involvement and perpetration of objectively heinous crimes entitle him to a fortnight of psychological torture? Does the perpetration of a crime warrant the criminal to undergo treatment of debatably the same severity? Why is this torture sanctioned and encouraged? Is it moral to sanction psychological torture if the outcome is a reformed criminal? Does it not just strip the individual of independent thought? Does the repentance of a murderer retain any meaning if the repentance is brought on by repeated Pavlovian conditioning and not the perpetrator's free thought?
Burgess continues to explore this as we follow Alex after his release, his 'reform' having been deemed successful. We see him return home only to find a stranger in his place next to his parents, the welcome he was expecting turned cold and unaccepting in reality. We follow Alex next as he revisits many of the places he and his cronies frequented in the book's opening pages, culminating ultimately in his brutalization and abandonment by his former 'friend' and former enemy. It is here Alex returns to a very prominent place in his story: the home of a man whose wife he brutally attacked and gang raped years ago which led to her untimely death.
At first, the man, a writer of a novel of the same name as the one I review now, doesn't recognize Alex and instead takes him in under a guise of kindness with the plan of using Alex and his story as a political pawn. And he does just that, handing our protagonist off to three of his colleagues just as he begins to realize Alex's true identity. It is with these three colleagues that Alex's mistreatment continues, culminating in the youth's attempted suicide. After a short stay in the hospital, Alex is released once again with the assurances of safety from the very people who initiated his first bout of torture in the name of 'reform'.
Unfortunately for them, Alex's suicide attempt seems to have undone a majority of the classical conditioning embedded into his psyche with much of his bloodlust and love for violence returning as he lays in his hospital bed. What we see now though, as Alex leaves the hospital, is a brief return to his former criminal compulsions before we see a genuine change in our protagonist. The final chapter of the novel, omitted from the film, shows us that, despite all he's undergone, Alex has grown. He longs for a family, specifically a son, and we end the novel with a final farewell from our leading man.
TL;DR: The ending of A Clockwork Orange is one that left me deeply contemplative and to say it didn't affect me would be a lie. Burgess' entrancing playfulness with language and the detailed horrific mistreatment undergone by his protagonist provides a haunting dichotomy that lingers with the reader as they near its final pages and leaves them pondering many sociological ideas, truly exploring the limits of human morality and what it means to make a choice.
Graphic: Police brutality, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
theodoreeeeeeads's review against another edition
- 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
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
basti's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Misogyny, Addiction, Sexism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Sexual violence
_sophahs_'s review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, and Violence
christian_g's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Suicide, Sexual content, Murder, Torture, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Rape, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
gnpunpun's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Suicide and Suicide attempt
moscatel's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Confinement, Torture, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Death, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Violence, Alcohol, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
natalie001's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Torture
pixelited's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
rory_john14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Blood, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content, Gore, Cancer, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Religious bigotry, Torture, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Homophobia, and Child death