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christinewonder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Murder
vikhasread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
heidewitzkaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
kari_f's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
oophshnartthepde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Above all else, A Clockwork Orange is a very fascinating read. Though I thought the slang would turn me off the book, by the end it was the primary thing keeping me flipping to the next page. I'd never read a book with that kind of a storytelling devise, and for that I applaud Burgess.
My main critique is in the characters - I thought they were a bit flat, and perhaps intentionally designed that way to portray the stereotypes of Burgess' dystopia. The flatness didn't turn me off of the read, but I think it's a missed opportunity not to explore some interesting character relationships in this world.
But the world itself is fascinating, and scarily plausible. The book as a whole really reminds me of 1984. And it really does a phenomenal job of presenting unanswerable questions to the reader. If you're looking for an engaging, shocking world to dive into as a way to reflect on our own, then I reccomend this book.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
masihludmila's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt
kingspite618's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
emilyyyhillsss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
krmreads2024's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexism, and Suicide attempt
deathmetalheron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
A Clockwork Orange is brilliant to say the least, and I think a firm example of where the book is just so clearly a superior format for the storytelling than the film will ever be. Narration in films is often a crutch, but in books it's one of the best tools for establishing character and tone of your story. Alex, the protagonist of the story, is so clearly in his own head that he cannot and will not divulge the details of his misgivings and his deeds. He is clearly a bad person and does horrible things but ultimately the narration is so supremely done because it distances the viewer from these actions--there is no voyeurism here, Alex is evil but so clearly inhuman that I found myself able to read about disgusting or awful occurrences with virtually no misgivings. It's an incredible feat to have been pulled off by Burgess to weave into the text such obtuse vocabulary to build Nadsat, not to mention it was done in three weeks.
Beyond the narration, the commentary being society's obsession with "rooting out" evil and social distortion while at the same time CAUSING said distortion is very palpable. Alex is certainly an evil figure but by the time the story has finished Alex's story feels tragic, but not in a sad way due to the fact it's Alex. ACO sort of feels like a litmus test for authoritarian punishment--do you wish a fate worse than death on the biggest dregs of society?
And it's the final chapter that throws me for a loop and prevents me from going 5/5. On the one hand,
Graphic: Confinement, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol