Review by cthonautical - A Clockwork Orange

cthonautical 's review for:

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

2.0

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book is not for me, but it did finally make me realize something about media in general.

I have a strong need for the shock factor (extreme violence, gross-out, abuse, and especially sexual violence) to be proportional to something else in the book. I'm not talking about justice, but the affect on either the plot or characters or a well done thematic/philosophical message. I didnt enjoy American Psycho, and now I realize it's because the message for me is mundane and isn't porportional to the violence and assault and that

urinal cake

scene.

This book is the same for me. This man

rapes and beats a woman in front of her husband, drugs/beats/rapes two children, and murders a woman

. And the thought experiment of "can a person be good if they can't choose good" is not enough for me to make up for all of that. It's an interesting thought, but wasn't presented to me in a way that really made me consider it for this character specifically. Particularly the 21st chapter really doesn't help me. He isn't choosing to stop out of being good or any guilt, but boredom.

But that doesn't mean its a bad book. It is a thing that is personal to my taste, but I'm glad I finally figured it out.

Content Warnings