corypress's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
james_apogee's review against another edition
2.0
I think I’ve read enough of these British dystopian novels for now.
kaciep's review against another edition
3.0
It was a book that I'm glad I read, I actually enjoy reading dialects. I also liked the concept of the book. I thought the plot was well thought out. The idea of using psychological torture to change a persons behavior is an intriguing one. I just don't think I would ever choose to read A Clockwork Orange again.
shahrun's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really divided about this book. I really don't know if it is a work of sheer genius or the author was having a laugh. For me it's not the actual violent plot, it's the language! Although I could guess what was happening, at times the language just had me baffled. I can understand why the author make Alex speak that way, but what's the good of being so clever that it excludes your audience? Regarding the endings (Part 3, Chapters 6/7), I can see why publishers in USA felt they should exclued the final chapter, as the final one is out of character with the rest of the book. And leaving ending violently kind of makes the story come full circle. But the actual final chapter balances the book and transforms it by giving Alex a depth you would not expect from all you have so far read. In the end, it wasn't a bad book, but I doubt I'd read it again.
joakley101's review against another edition
Oh, you have your own lingo… cOoL.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Torture, Medical trauma, and Stalking
elliehoneyman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
reggiepack's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
georgie_mb's review against another edition
4.0
I’d heard so much about this book that I went into this with a few apprehensions. In some ways, I think that actually worked for me as I soon let those go as I got into this, and I think it made me appreciate it more.
Let’s start off with the language. Sure, it’s a little complicated at first to understand and it certainly doesn’t flow well, but thanks to reading the introduction where there are a few translations and also using common sense I soon got the gist of it. After a while, I was reading this a lot quicker than at the start!
Then, the violence. I can cope fairly okay with violence in books (it’s watching it in films etc that makes me squirm) but everyone always seemed to go on about the extreme violence in this that I was a bit freaked out. Sure, some of it is really unsettling, and if you’re triggered by sexual assault then this probably isn’t the read for you. But I actually found that his matter of fact way of saying it along with the language actually made this bearable. Of course I was shocked, but I was able to carry on with this instead of physically throwing it away in disgust like I have done with some books!
Altogether, this is so cleverly put together, and as a fan of dystopian novels this ticked all the boxes for me. The subtle hints to a controlling government trying to fight modern youth worked well, and I felt this definitely picked up more in the second half (the half I enjoyed the most).
Let’s start off with the language. Sure, it’s a little complicated at first to understand and it certainly doesn’t flow well, but thanks to reading the introduction where there are a few translations and also using common sense I soon got the gist of it. After a while, I was reading this a lot quicker than at the start!
Then, the violence. I can cope fairly okay with violence in books (it’s watching it in films etc that makes me squirm) but everyone always seemed to go on about the extreme violence in this that I was a bit freaked out. Sure, some of it is really unsettling, and if you’re triggered by sexual assault then this probably isn’t the read for you. But I actually found that his matter of fact way of saying it along with the language actually made this bearable. Of course I was shocked, but I was able to carry on with this instead of physically throwing it away in disgust like I have done with some books!
Altogether, this is so cleverly put together, and as a fan of dystopian novels this ticked all the boxes for me. The subtle hints to a controlling government trying to fight modern youth worked well, and I felt this definitely picked up more in the second half (the half I enjoyed the most).