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A review by irritablesatirist
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
A Clockwork Orange is a delicious read that’s just as entertaining as the film. Anthony Burgess’ linguistic experiments pay off big time. Perhaps my favorite chunk of writing in the whole book is Alex’s experience of listening to music, with how vivid the sounds become as he describes them. Phrases like “behind my gulliver the trumpets threewise silverflamed” and “by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder” are some of the best descriptions I’ve ever read. Burgess’ writing puts you into Alex’s experience perfectly, allowing you to enjoy his slang despite his behavior.
As I read A Clockwork Orange, even through details that were altered in the film adaptation, I could only hear Malcolm McDowell’s voice as Alex. Every line came into my mind as if McDowell was narrating the audio-book. That added another whole element to the book, almost making it more vivid, although through a Kubrickian lens.
But the part I need to talk most about is the twenty-first chapter, which I never experienced before now. While the theme of free will dominates much of the story, the twenty-first chapter turns it more into a story about Alex growing up from his rebellious youth. In the end, he grows tired of his criminal lifestyle, yearning for a normal life with a normal family. It’s certainly about free will, but the final chapter adds to the story that Alex matured and exercised his free will to a good end. In other words, Burgess’ story is about growing up, whereas Kubrick was concerned more about free will alone.
How do I feel about the twenty-first chapter? I have to think about it more, but I can see why the New York publisher wouldn’t have included it. It breaks from a strict exploration of free will, almost like an epilogue tying up loose ends in the narrative, but maybe I haven’t thought it through yet. It’s also possible that I’m just too used to Kubrick’s version to fully embrace this yet. So as of right now, I’m not sure what I think about the twenty-first chapter.
Regardless, I still loved A Clockwork Orange. It's a powerful, entertaining book that I enjoyed every moment of. I look forward to more from Anthony Burgess in the future.
As I read A Clockwork Orange, even through details that were altered in the film adaptation, I could only hear Malcolm McDowell’s voice as Alex. Every line came into my mind as if McDowell was narrating the audio-book. That added another whole element to the book, almost making it more vivid, although through a Kubrickian lens.
But the part I need to talk most about is the twenty-first chapter, which I never experienced before now. While the theme of free will dominates much of the story, the twenty-first chapter turns it more into a story about Alex growing up from his rebellious youth. In the end, he grows tired of his criminal lifestyle, yearning for a normal life with a normal family. It’s certainly about free will, but the final chapter adds to the story that Alex matured and exercised his free will to a good end. In other words, Burgess’ story is about growing up, whereas Kubrick was concerned more about free will alone.
How do I feel about the twenty-first chapter? I have to think about it more, but I can see why the New York publisher wouldn’t have included it. It breaks from a strict exploration of free will, almost like an epilogue tying up loose ends in the narrative, but maybe I haven’t thought it through yet. It’s also possible that I’m just too used to Kubrick’s version to fully embrace this yet. So as of right now, I’m not sure what I think about the twenty-first chapter.
Regardless, I still loved A Clockwork Orange. It's a powerful, entertaining book that I enjoyed every moment of. I look forward to more from Anthony Burgess in the future.