“When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.”
Arguably, it is more immoral to strip a human of their free will than allowing them to choose between good and evil. The brutality of the novel A Clockwork Orange did not exactly amass my full immersion, though I did find it incredibly difficult to put down.
I’m not the grandest fan of dystopian fiction, and I’m not an avid reader either. I had zero motivation to even make it past ten pages of this book due to its complicated vernacular, Nadsat, a unique blend of Russian and Cockney rhyming slang. I was also uninterested in the narrator’s drawl and repeated saying of “oh my brothers,” often said after every paragraph, big or small. I was starting to go more insane than him. Maybe this is simply a personal preference, but it’s also hard for me to follow a criminal, apathetic sadist as a protagonist. I think the author Anthony Burgess had excellent commitment to the language and the overall representation of young hoodlums, less on their brain processing, but some scenes expressed haste to drift on to the important sections, and some unnecessary scenes lasted for far too long.
However, I think the hatred above is a bit overdone. The only other topic that bothered me during perusal was the sheer violence! It is a heinous and disgusting piece of literature, no matter how great it is, like Brave New World but . . . illegal, like reality.
Soooo, some good things: I really liked the descriptions of classical music. The protagonist/antagonist, Alex DeLarge, is a brilliant music enthusiast. He can probably recall any symphonic melody on the spot, and I appreciate the good taste in music. I also like how he didn’t get closure for his ending, unlike the movie, which is also very good (but too graphic). Additionally, there are quotable phrases and key points to the unfairness of, well, coming of age and state control. The youth violence critique is on par.
All in all, mixed feelings about this book. Should you read it? I recommend it, yes, as it is completely different from its movie counterpart, and the fascinating language becomes fun to say. If you are sensitive to content, perhaps refrain from this for a while. Nonetheless, I believe I’ll be safe and happy if I don’t ever read this again. Ciao, bye.