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sam__i__am 's review for:
A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Clockwork Orange grapples with the question of what to do with the ‘criminal mind’. Alex is completely unlikeable and arguably evil, but you still feel sympathy for the ‘treatment’ he is put through and the way his humanity is stripped from him. Burgess presents this duality with sophistication. It is hard to read some of what Alex does to other people but it is also chilling the way he is objectified by the authorities. I believe Burgess takes the side of care and reform over punishment; the approach of brainwashing and torture creates more trauma and ultimately leaves us with the same sadistic man we met at the start, but with the addition of vindication from being used as a pawn in a politicians’ game.
I believe a lot of that could be achieved from a plot summary however. This would have really shone if it was half as long. The strongest passages were the detailed, emotive ones depicting abuse, which really made me uncomfortable. I wish more had gone into developing the events after Alex’s release, a lot changed without much given to how or why.
I believe a lot of that could be achieved from a plot summary however. This would have really shone if it was half as long. The strongest passages were the detailed, emotive ones depicting abuse, which really made me uncomfortable. I wish more had gone into developing the events after Alex’s release, a lot changed without much given to how or why.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, War
Minor: Sexism