Book Title: A Clockwork Orange
Author: Anthony Burgess(http://www.anthonyburgess.org/)
Pages: 213
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Genre: Fiction
(Scale Explanation: 1) Meaning awful, 5) Meaning not good, but not bad, equal, 10) Meaning wonderful)
PLOT - 10
CHARACTERS – 10
BEGINNING - 9
ENDING - 10
FLOW - 9
OVERALL – 10
What I liked about this book: I really loved the made up slang after I got used to it. It somehow was a better way to convey the violence that the droogs see as being good and normal. I loved that society tried to reform Alex, but failed miserably, they just made him feel terrible, and when he was released, he had no one to go to. I love it that in the end, Alex, chose to move on and grow up himself. That was the best part of the book, to me. I really loved the extra tidbit that was included in this edition, an introduction from Anthony Burgess, where he was angry that most Americans in the beginning of the publishing of this book, never got the last chapter. It was very fun to read his thoughts on that.
What I disliked about this book: The first few pages were hard to understand as Alex and his droogs speak in a made up slang that shows their brutal nature. It took me reading through the first few pages a few times to understand it entirely. After that, the book rocked!
Who I would recommend this book to: Anyone that enjoys a good philosophical book from one person’s point of view. Anyone that enjoys cult classics. Anyone that enjoys Anthony Burgess.
What I felt the book was about: Alex and his droogs are vicious gang members in a futuristic world where crime is not as easily taken care of. After leading on many different crimes, he finally does the ultimate crime, he kills a woman. He gets sent to jail and there is a groundbreaking new therapy that the government is willing to try on Alex, letting him out in just two weeks time. The therapy is awful, forcing Alex's eyes open to watch violence and rape scenes, while playing some of his favorite music. After a few days, he develpos a sickness to violence, so that anytime he sees it or thinks of it, he gets violently sick. He is released and everyone that he knew before doesn't want anything to do with him. He is left alone and gets beaten up by cops that used to be his droog members. He walks along an old country road for a while when he stumbles upon a cottage. He knocks on the door and the owner lets him in. He nurses Alex back to health, and Alex feels that the house is familiar. Alex finally remembers that he and his droogs had once stormed this house, beat the owner up, and raped his wife. The owner had already recognized Alex, but he and a few of his friends are fighting the government to stop the reforming process that Alex has gone through. Though the owner wants his revenge on Alex. He ends up taking Alex to an apartment in London and blasts music, the same music that Alex had to listen to while he was in the therapy sessions into the room. It makes Alex the sickest ever and he tried to commit suicide by jumping out the window. He survives and it seems that the therapy was abolished from his brain with the damage that was caused from the jump. He is back to his old droogie self. He goes back to his violent ways, only not participating in the crimes himself, he leads a group of young droogs until it dawns on him that he is done with the gangster life, he wants to grow up, get married and have a child. He leaves the droogs and one of them in charge and goes to a local coffee shop where he meets one of his old droogs from before the prison time, he sees that he is married and happy. This is the turning point for Alex, letting us know that people tend to grow up on their own with time, in most cases.
Favorite excerpts or quotes from the book: "My son, my son. When I had my son I would explain all that to him when he was starry enough to like understand. But then I knew he would not understand or would not want to understand at all and would do all the veshches I had done, yes perhaps even killing some poor starry forella surrounded with mewing kots and koshkas, and I would not be able to really stop him. And now would he be able to stop his own son, brothers. And so it would itty on to like the end of the world, round and round and round, like some bolshy gigantic like chelloveck, like old Bog Himself (by courtesy of Korova Milkbar) turning and turning and turning vonny grahzny orange in his gigantic rookers." - Page 211
What I disliked about this book: The first few pages were hard to understand as Alex and his droogs speak in a made up slang that shows their brutal nature. It took me reading through the first few pages a few times to understand it entirely. After that, the book rocked!
Who I would recommend this book to: Anyone that enjoys a good philosophical book from one person’s point of view. Anyone that enjoys cult classics. Anyone that enjoys Anthony Burgess.
What I felt the book was about: Alex and his droogs are vicious gang members in a futuristic world where crime is not as easily taken care of. After leading on many different crimes, he finally does the ultimate crime, he kills a woman. He gets sent to jail and there is a groundbreaking new therapy that the government is willing to try on Alex, letting him out in just two weeks time. The therapy is awful, forcing Alex's eyes open to watch violence and rape scenes, while playing some of his favorite music. After a few days, he develpos a sickness to violence, so that anytime he sees it or thinks of it, he gets violently sick. He is released and everyone that he knew before doesn't want anything to do with him. He is left alone and gets beaten up by cops that used to be his droog members. He walks along an old country road for a while when he stumbles upon a cottage. He knocks on the door and the owner lets him in. He nurses Alex back to health, and Alex feels that the house is familiar. Alex finally remembers that he and his droogs had once stormed this house, beat the owner up, and raped his wife. The owner had already recognized Alex, but he and a few of his friends are fighting the government to stop the reforming process that Alex has gone through. Though the owner wants his revenge on Alex. He ends up taking Alex to an apartment in London and blasts music, the same music that Alex had to listen to while he was in the therapy sessions into the room. It makes Alex the sickest ever and he tried to commit suicide by jumping out the window. He survives and it seems that the therapy was abolished from his brain with the damage that was caused from the jump. He is back to his old droogie self. He goes back to his violent ways, only not participating in the crimes himself, he leads a group of young droogs until it dawns on him that he is done with the gangster life, he wants to grow up, get married and have a child. He leaves the droogs and one of them in charge and goes to a local coffee shop where he meets one of his old droogs from before the prison time, he sees that he is married and happy. This is the turning point for Alex, letting us know that people tend to grow up on their own with time, in most cases.
Favorite excerpts or quotes from the book: "My son, my son. When I had my son I would explain all that to him when he was starry enough to like understand. But then I knew he would not understand or would not want to understand at all and would do all the veshches I had done, yes perhaps even killing some poor starry forella surrounded with mewing kots and koshkas, and I would not be able to really stop him. And now would he be able to stop his own son, brothers. And so it would itty on to like the end of the world, round and round and round, like some bolshy gigantic like chelloveck, like old Bog Himself (by courtesy of Korova Milkbar) turning and turning and turning vonny grahzny orange in his gigantic rookers." - Page 211
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