Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

67 reviews

perth_is's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

sas_lk's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a dystopian world where violence is everywhere. At first, it seems like such a far-fetched way of living, however, the more I read, the more I realised that this is almost South Africa's reality. Violence, sexual abuse and murder around every corner. 
Big trigger warnings, make sure you know what you're getting into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit

pt_barnum's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is easily one of my all-time favorites. It's about nihilism, anarchy, and moral philosophy, all told through the perspective of an ultra-violent psychopath who changes drastically throughout the book. It's truly one of the greatest glimpses into the darkness of the human psyche ever put to page.

The gimmick of ACO is that contains a lot of non-english words, specifically a lot of Russian and Russian-influenced-yet-still-made-up slang, like the word "girl" is rarely used in the book, but the term "devotchka" is used in abundance. This is the biggest barrier to getting into the book, as you have to flip to the appendix to learn every new word. While somewhat frustrating at first, it makes it so much more fun to read once you get the hang of it (I was able to read without the appendix about a third into the book). It makes you connect with the setting so much more as it adds another layer of immersion. Just read it if you can get past all the red flags mentioned below, at least so you can brag that you did.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

cjfooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

You know what, I actually enjoyed this. I got to say - I wasn’t expecting to.
It was one of those books I wanted to read to say I’d read it and to watch the movie, which I know is a cult classic (although tbh I don’t feel the need now). The only other thing I knew about it going in, was that it was very graphically violent - and wow it definitely is, but not in the way you’d expect. 

Firstly, the first part is quite confusing because by this point, not only are you still trying to understand the book’s world and meet characters, but the language is actually its own unique dialect of English. 

They mention it at some point, but it’s the young people slang of this fictional world and includes a lot of Russian-derived words in place of English ones. This means most commonly used nouns and verbs are totally incoherent at the start. But towards the middle and end I actually really enjoyed this part of it and now, after reading, sort of miss listening to it, in the way you might miss hearing an Irishmen speak after visiting Ireland for a week. 

I’m also really glad I read it  for the first time as an audiobook for this reason - I think I understood it quicker and better this way. 

When it comes to all the violence though, it’s dampened considerably by the language factor in a very clever way, never using the words like ‘r*pe’, ‘screaming/crying’ or ‘bl**d’ instead ‘the ol’ in-out-in-out’, ‘screeching’ and ‘krovvy’. Between this and the matter-of-a-fact narration about atrocities from Alex (the main character) i think the point here is to try and make the reader read in Alex’s detached perspective, instead of their own. 
The language does change throughout the book and, man the way it’s written is so a unique, that I can’t help but respect the heck out of it (which is also why I don’t think the movie could ever do it justice). 

Once Alex goes through ‘rehab’, the language he hears and starts using, changes to the ‘ugly’ words we’re used to (I.e. r*pe, etc.) and, this, combined with Alex’s correlated nausea, makes the impact of the violence that much stronger.

In terms of plot, it’s heavily a character development, rather than plot. And seems to be making some sort of a point but I’ll admit - I still don’t really get it.
To me overall, it’s a cleverly written story about morality, cruelty, karma and a very clever use of language. 

I wasn’t expecting to say I’d read this again but I think I would - and would recommend it in certain cases - but only for horror fans (though I wouldn’t actually call this horror) who can stomach a lot of violence in books. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

_sophahs_'s review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Not an enjoyable read but an important one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

shoohoob's review

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I definitely should have read this instead of listened, but the audiobook narrator kinda ate 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

alext8086's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• 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

3.75

I felt like the slang language the main character uses is a bit over the top. I also feel like most of the book is just him doing awful things. I love the second half of the book, though, when he doesn’t get to be an absolute villain all the time. When he is just being his normal awful self, I did not love the book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

supremedemon's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-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

3.25

A disturbing story. The 21st chapter (omitted in some publications) is a must and ties the book together. Uses a lot of Russian-based slang, so it's easier to read if you know some Russian. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual violence, and Medical content

elliya's review

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Despite beginning with a lot of ultraviolence and rape, I enjoyed this much more than I expected to! I believe that reading a narrated version made the nadsat vernacular much easier for me to parse, and therefore made for a much more pleasant reading experience. It reminded me strongly of Chabon’s Yiddish Policeman’s Union - strong soviet influences on culture and language in both, plus an array of generally dislikable male characters. I sort of felt bad for Alex in the middle section, and was rooting for him by the end! Unsurprisingly, I loved the way he related to music, found the correctional officer to be some needed comedy, and found the whole experimental results quite disturbing. All in all, I imagine those reactions are par. I’m glad to having finally read this classic, and I look forward to watching Kubrick’s film interpretation.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death, Murder, and War

greenan26's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Police brutality, Medical trauma, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Racial slurs, Vomit, and Antisemitism