A review by jojoinabox
Stanley Kubrick's Clockwork Orange by Stanley Kubrick, Anthony Burgess

4.0

I'd seen the Kubrick film first, and thereafter decided that I ought to find the book, expecting it to be better. It was. The nadsat slang took a bit to catch onto, but I was fully comfortable with it by about halfway through. There is, of course, a lot of violence in A Clockwork Orange, often portrayed in a positive light, but I wouldn't say it glorifies "the old ultra-violence" as much as it has been accused of doing. Burgess' main point is not the violence of youth in society, but of the nature of free will; namely, is it better to be forced into goodness or choose to do evil? I think he answers his question quite plainly in Alex's story.

I would DEFINITELY say to make sure you get a copy with all 21 chapters (the American editions originally cut the last chapter), because the ending drastically changes the reading of the story, which makes it essential. I'd love to go into detail, but that'd be spoilers, so you'll have to take my word on it.