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A review by tits_mcgee
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"What's it going to be then, eh?"
There's no doubting that this book is a masterpiece, pertinent to the conversation about free-will vs totalitarianism, and a solid observation of youths attraction to crime.
"Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?"
Burgess has conjured something special here, an ultra violent nightmare dystopia full of fighting, rape, and mindless bloody burglaries; the weird thing is, the real horror show begins when the criminal protagonist undergoes an experiment to transform his menacing disposition into one that is civilised.
The prose is an insane playground for Burgess, while it is humorous and does a good job of obscuring the violence, I found it difficult to get on with it; the language Burgess invented, "Nadsat", was just too bizarre for me to enjoy, although I did fully appreciate its uniqueness.
"Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow, glazzies closed, rot open in bliss, slooshying the sluice of lovely sounds. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh."
A book that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, and one that I imagine is many peoples number one book of all time; for me though, while I appreciate its genius, the prose was too difficult to chew through so I can't bring myself to rate it too high.
8/10
There's no doubting that this book is a masterpiece, pertinent to the conversation about free-will vs totalitarianism, and a solid observation of youths attraction to crime.
"Is it better for a man to have chosen evil than to have good imposed upon him?"
Burgess has conjured something special here, an ultra violent nightmare dystopia full of fighting, rape, and mindless bloody burglaries; the weird thing is, the real horror show begins when the criminal protagonist undergoes an experiment to transform his menacing disposition into one that is civilised.
The prose is an insane playground for Burgess, while it is humorous and does a good job of obscuring the violence, I found it difficult to get on with it; the language Burgess invented, "Nadsat", was just too bizarre for me to enjoy, although I did fully appreciate its uniqueness.
"Then, brothers, it came. Oh, bliss, bliss and heaven. I lay all nagoy to the ceiling, my gulliver on my rookers on the pillow, glazzies closed, rot open in bliss, slooshying the sluice of lovely sounds. Oh, it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh."
A book that I won't be forgetting anytime soon, and one that I imagine is many peoples number one book of all time; for me though, while I appreciate its genius, the prose was too difficult to chew through so I can't bring myself to rate it too high.
8/10