Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - A Clockwork Orange

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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minnie_xx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional lighthearted slow-paced

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

5.0

interesting. so interesting in style, it draws you in. the story is told in a lighthearted and very self-detracting way and with a serious discussion of the nature of free will in relation to morality.

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cosmicruin's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-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

2.75

Challenging to read at times because of the thick langauge

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pixelited's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Despite being quite graphic and somewhat normalizing horrendous acts of violence, the message of this story is clear and insightful. The copy I read included a foreword by the author, which I found very interesting. I didn’t know that the last chapter was excluded during its first publication in the United States and—of course—the book would have taken on a completely different meaning if I had not had the chance to read the final intended chapter. This last chapter is what really brings meaning to this work and sort of ties it in a pretty bow while still acknowledging human tendencies towards violence.

Additionally, while the language was at first disorienting, you’re able to get a grasp on how the words are used quickly. I find this aspect of the book particularly interesting, being part of a younger generation with all sorts of slang, and it makes me wonder how the slang I use today may become a “nadsat” language in other years. I also enjoyed the stark difference when characters speak in proper English and how that plays into the story as well.

Overall, while the nature of the book is disturbing and upsetting, I am glad to have read it and gotten such a perspective on human nature and change.

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rory_john14's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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sabrinz's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-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

2.5

It's one of THE classic books that I had on my to-read list for a while. Now that I have I still have not been able to put all my thoughts and feelings about this book into words or even precise thoughts.
Even though the story is quite short with about 200 pages, it does take some time to read. While the linguistic aspect Burgess integrated with his youth slang being is amazing from a linguistic point of view and quite interesting when you read the background of these words, it made reading the story rather slow. However, at some point you do get used to the words and the reading speeds up (you'll also be able to guess most words from contex - I did know some Russion but even then it took me quite a while to make some connections between the actual Russian word and the slang that was based on it).

The story follows Alex, a 15-year old teenager, and his gang of 3 friends and their violent antics at night. Like many other youths in this story, they rebell against their government the only way they can think how - with violence. Even though some of their deeds are glossed over, they are quite burtal.
Alex, thinking himself the leader of his gang and not really taking responsibility for their actions, gets arrested when one of their break-ins goes wrong. In prison, he bides his time until he can get back out and go right back to the life he left behind. Seeing an opportunity to shorten his sentence by volunteering for a method that will guarantee his release in two weeks, Alex becomes the subject to a terrible conditioning that leads him to associate any form of violence with intense pain, thus forcing him to be act and think in a non-violent way.
The third part of the book is about Alex back in his life and the struggle that ensures from his conditioning.

The entire story contains a multititude of topics, but in the center stands the question of choice. Can we take away a person's choice even if it is someone like Alex?

Even though the last chapter was meant as somewhat of a hopeful outlook and a small redemption for Alex in the form of him growing up and settling, it felt to mee like a gloomy end. Alex decides that he wants a family of his own, but fears that his children will have to go through similar things he has (i.e. acting out as teenagers) and that the cycle of violence will be never-ending.

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