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pascalthehoff's Reviews (404)
A Clockwork Orange is absolutely mesmerizing. Kubrick's movie adaptation has been one of my favourite movies since I was around 18 years old. But somehow I never got around to reading the book. One of the reasons for that hesitation was the strange vernacular Burgess used for Alex, Our Humble Narrator, and when I tried to read the first few pages of the book on Amazon, I decided that all these slang words influenced by the Russian language were too cumbersome for me to enjoy the book.
But oh boy, am I glad that I finally went through and read the original. It gives a lot more insight into Alex's thoughts and his character. When the movie is about witnessing Alex's struggles, then the book is about actually feeling Alex's demise.
But it actually adds a few more layers on top of what the film dared to show. The book is even more dramatic in depicting the good old ultra-violence - without any restraint or hesitation. It also shows how Kubrick's adaptation, albeit an adaption that stays quite true to its source material, diverts in several important aspects of the book. Especially Alex's sophisticated mindset is depicted way more consistent in the book. No more 'Singing in the Rain' - in the book it's only the lovely music of the good old Ludwig van and other classical composers.
I rewatched the movie right after finishing the book and there were more subtleties in the movie that slightly deviated from the book than I expected. I would recommend this book to everyone who already liked the movie. The two incarnations of A Clockwork Orange complement each other quite well. I think the book becomes a lot more enjoyable when the reader is already accustomed to the strange language the droogs use and is able to derive the meaning of some of the words by his knowledge of the movie. After all it wasn't as quite as difficult to read as I originally expected. Burgess' masterful and eloquent writing actually made it quite a fluent and easy read.
A Clockwork Orange is, from now on, definitely not only one of my favourite movies, but also one of my favourite books.
But oh boy, am I glad that I finally went through and read the original. It gives a lot more insight into Alex's thoughts and his character. When the movie is about witnessing Alex's struggles, then the book is about actually feeling Alex's demise.
But it actually adds a few more layers on top of what the film dared to show. The book is even more dramatic in depicting the good old ultra-violence - without any restraint or hesitation. It also shows how Kubrick's adaptation, albeit an adaption that stays quite true to its source material, diverts in several important aspects of the book. Especially Alex's sophisticated mindset is depicted way more consistent in the book. No more 'Singing in the Rain' - in the book it's only the lovely music of the good old Ludwig van and other classical composers.
I rewatched the movie right after finishing the book and there were more subtleties in the movie that slightly deviated from the book than I expected. I would recommend this book to everyone who already liked the movie. The two incarnations of A Clockwork Orange complement each other quite well. I think the book becomes a lot more enjoyable when the reader is already accustomed to the strange language the droogs use and is able to derive the meaning of some of the words by his knowledge of the movie. After all it wasn't as quite as difficult to read as I originally expected. Burgess' masterful and eloquent writing actually made it quite a fluent and easy read.
A Clockwork Orange is, from now on, definitely not only one of my favourite movies, but also one of my favourite books.
