- Hardcover: 158 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd/Paperview UK Ltd; First Thus edition (2007)
- ASIN: B000NWY1UA
- Product Dimensions: 21.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 164,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As it's difficult to discuss this book without ruining the plot, I want to address the two things that I thought I would dislike about A Clockwork Orange: the slang and the violence. Much of the book is written in nadsat, an English-Russian hybrid slang language. My copy of the book had a handy glossary in the back and for the first page I looked up every single word. However, I very quickly found that the language was perfectly understandable from context and repetition, and I very rarely needed to refer to the word list. Far from being a distraction, it added to the sense of Alex's world and I enjoyed its effect. The violence was more of an issue, and is the main reason why I still don't like this book in spite of its cleverness. Yet there wasn't nearly as much as I was expecting, nor was it very graphic. In fact, the violence was appropriate and effective. Yes, it is horrible, particularly when it is described so casually and Alex and his gang take such glee in it, but Burgess has to show how unpleasant Alex is in order for the Ludovico Technique to be an effective plot device.
Ignore any prejudices you may have about this book and you will find that, underneath the expectations of slang and violence, there is an intelligent story with a surprisingly erudite and expressive anti-hero.
Ignore any prejudices you may have about this book and you will find that, underneath the expectations of slang and violence, there is an intelligent story with a surprisingly erudite and expressive anti-hero.
Format:Paperback
Its quite hard to rate this book, the language used is unique (based on the characters + eras lingo) and when I was first confronted with it at the start of the book I got quite frustrated - but something really made me keep reading. Still not sure whether I liked this book, but I'd say its worth reading for its uniqe-ness.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Dystopian Morality Play
4 Feb 2012
Format:Paperback
"A Clockwork Orange" is a novel by Anthony Burgess, and it is one of the most famous works of dystopian fiction. It has been made particularly famous by Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation, and both the film and the book are routinely ranked in various surveys amongst the most significant works in their corresponding genres.
One of the main idiosyncrasies of the book is the use of an invented teenage slang (or more specifically "argot") called Nadsat. Burgess was a polyglot, so for him it was an interesting exercise to create a whole new manner of speaking. Nadsat was largely based on Russian words with a few traditional English slang words and phrases. One of the motivations for the invention of a completely fictional slang was Burgess' desire to keep his characters fresh and relevant for a foreseeable future. Thus, a use of any concurrent argots would have made book dated very quickly. However, the heavy use of Nadsat makes "A Clockwork Orange" fairly difficult to read. My native language is Croatian, another Slavic tongue, and I found that I was able to understand majority of the Russian words without a need for a glossary. Nonetheless, the Anglicized orthography of the words made them sufficiently alien to me that I needed to pause and think about the meaning of those words as I was reading. If you are not familiar with any Slavic languages, then either try to go through a glossary of Nadsat words or try to figure their meaning out from the context.
If you can get past the language then "A Clockwork Orange" will present you with one of the most innovative and original works of fiction in the twentieth century. Burgess' ability to completely get into the head of a delinquent youth is astounding and has not lost any of its original freshness. Even in the age when we are bombarded with violent images in the media on a daily basis, the descriptions of "ultraviolence" is still very unsettling and disturbing. One of the book's main themes is a reform of violent offenders, and the ethics of the use of behavioral conditioning as a form of rehabilitation. This is what the title of the book refers to: clockwork orange is an unnatural combination of mechanical clockwork, and a soft, juicy living organism. The contradiction between these two opposing forces creates unresolvable tension that can only end in a disaster.
Despite its innovative use of language, futuristic setting, and the graphical description of violence, "A Clockwork Orange" is essentially a classic morality play. This is probably one of the main reasons for book's enduring popularity and relevance. Themes of youthful alienation, repentant malefactors, and individual's moral progress are universally relatable and applicable. This alone makes this book worth reading and all the effort worthwhile.
One of the main idiosyncrasies of the book is the use of an invented teenage slang (or more specifically "argot") called Nadsat. Burgess was a polyglot, so for him it was an interesting exercise to create a whole new manner of speaking. Nadsat was largely based on Russian words with a few traditional English slang words and phrases. One of the motivations for the invention of a completely fictional slang was Burgess' desire to keep his characters fresh and relevant for a foreseeable future. Thus, a use of any concurrent argots would have made book dated very quickly. However, the heavy use of Nadsat makes "A Clockwork Orange" fairly difficult to read. My native language is Croatian, another Slavic tongue, and I found that I was able to understand majority of the Russian words without a need for a glossary. Nonetheless, the Anglicized orthography of the words made them sufficiently alien to me that I needed to pause and think about the meaning of those words as I was reading. If you are not familiar with any Slavic languages, then either try to go through a glossary of Nadsat words or try to figure their meaning out from the context.
If you can get past the language then "A Clockwork Orange" will present you with one of the most innovative and original works of fiction in the twentieth century. Burgess' ability to completely get into the head of a delinquent youth is astounding and has not lost any of its original freshness. Even in the age when we are bombarded with violent images in the media on a daily basis, the descriptions of "ultraviolence" is still very unsettling and disturbing. One of the book's main themes is a reform of violent offenders, and the ethics of the use of behavioral conditioning as a form of rehabilitation. This is what the title of the book refers to: clockwork orange is an unnatural combination of mechanical clockwork, and a soft, juicy living organism. The contradiction between these two opposing forces creates unresolvable tension that can only end in a disaster.
Despite its innovative use of language, futuristic setting, and the graphical description of violence, "A Clockwork Orange" is essentially a classic morality play. This is probably one of the main reasons for book's enduring popularity and relevance. Themes of youthful alienation, repentant malefactors, and individual's moral progress are universally relatable and applicable. This alone makes this book worth reading and all the effort worthwhile.
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