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A review by sabrinz
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
dark
reflective
tense
medium-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
2.5
It's one of THE classic books that I had on my to-read list for a while. Now that I have I still have not been able to put all my thoughts and feelings about this book into words or even precise thoughts.
Even though the story is quite short with about 200 pages, it does take some time to read. While the linguistic aspect Burgess integrated with his youth slang being is amazing from a linguistic point of view and quite interesting when you read the background of these words, it made reading the story rather slow. However, at some point you do get used to the words and the reading speeds up (you'll also be able to guess most words from contex - I did know some Russion but even then it took me quite a while to make some connections between the actual Russian word and the slang that was based on it).
The story follows Alex, a 15-year old teenager, and his gang of 3 friends and their violent antics at night. Like many other youths in this story, they rebell against their government the only way they can think how - with violence. Even though some of their deeds are glossed over, they are quite burtal.
Alex, thinking himself the leader of his gang and not really taking responsibility for their actions, gets arrested when one of their break-ins goes wrong. In prison, he bides his time until he can get back out and go right back to the life he left behind. Seeing an opportunity to shorten his sentence by volunteering for a method that will guarantee his release in two weeks, Alex becomes the subject to a terrible conditioning that leads him to associate any form of violence with intense pain, thus forcing him to be act and think in a non-violent way.
The third part of the book is about Alex back in his life and the struggle that ensures from his conditioning.
The entire story contains a multititude of topics, but in the center stands the question of choice. Can we take away a person's choice even if it is someone like Alex?
Even though the last chapter was meant as somewhat of a hopeful outlook and a small redemption for Alex in the form of him growing up and settling, it felt to mee like a gloomy end. Alex decides that he wants a family of his own, but fears that his children will have to go through similar things he has (i.e. acting out as teenagers) and that the cycle of violence will be never-ending.
Even though the story is quite short with about 200 pages, it does take some time to read. While the linguistic aspect Burgess integrated with his youth slang being is amazing from a linguistic point of view and quite interesting when you read the background of these words, it made reading the story rather slow. However, at some point you do get used to the words and the reading speeds up (you'll also be able to guess most words from contex - I did know some Russion but even then it took me quite a while to make some connections between the actual Russian word and the slang that was based on it).
The story follows Alex, a 15-year old teenager, and his gang of 3 friends and their violent antics at night. Like many other youths in this story, they rebell against their government the only way they can think how - with violence. Even though some of their deeds are glossed over, they are quite burtal.
Alex, thinking himself the leader of his gang and not really taking responsibility for their actions, gets arrested when one of their break-ins goes wrong. In prison, he bides his time until he can get back out and go right back to the life he left behind. Seeing an opportunity to shorten his sentence by volunteering for a method that will guarantee his release in two weeks, Alex becomes the subject to a terrible conditioning that leads him to associate any form of violence with intense pain, thus forcing him to be act and think in a non-violent way.
The third part of the book is about Alex back in his life and the struggle that ensures from his conditioning.
The entire story contains a multititude of topics, but in the center stands the question of choice. Can we take away a person's choice even if it is someone like Alex?
Even though the last chapter was meant as somewhat of a hopeful outlook and a small redemption for Alex in the form of him growing up and settling, it felt to mee like a gloomy end. Alex decides that he wants a family of his own, but fears that his children will have to go through similar things he has (i.e. acting out as teenagers) and that the cycle of violence will be never-ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Torture, Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Drug use
Minor: Animal cruelty