Product Description

Anthony Burgess's modern classic of youthful violence and social redemption, reissued to include the controversial last chapter not previously published in this country, with a new introduction by the author.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1119 in Books
• Published on: 1986-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
Foremost in the genre, this novel uses difficult and disorientating language - Burgess's own invented teenage argot of Nadsat - to relate a story of extreme violence and moral anarchy. Four thugs run riot, until their leader, Alex, is caught, jailed and an attempt made to reform him by methods as depraved as his own. A brilliant and terrifying examination of the nature of good and evil. This was made into a controversial film by Stanley Kubrick in 1971. (Kirkus UK)

I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language as Mr. Burgess has done here-the fact that this is also a very funny book may pass unnoticed. -- William S. Burroughs

Novel by Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. Set in a dismal dystopia, it is the first-person account of a juvenile delinquent who undergoes state-sponsored psychological rehabilitation for his aberrant behavior. The novel satirizes extreme political systems that are based on opposing models of the perfectibility or incorrigibility of humanity. Written in a futuristic slang vocabulary invented by Burgess, in part by adaptation of Russian words, it was his most original and best-known work. Alex, the protagonist, has a passion for classical music and is a member of a vicious teenage gang that commits random acts of brutality. Captured and imprisoned, he is transformed through behavioral conditioning into a model citizen, but his taming also leaves him defenseless. He ultimately reverts to his former behavior. The final chapter of the original British edition, in which Alex renounces his amoral past, was removed when the novel was first published in the United States. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

About the Author
Anthony Burgess was born in Manchester in 1917. From 1954 to 1960 he was stationed in Malaysia as an education officer - during this time he started writing The Malayan Trilogy. Diagnosed with an unoperable brain tumour in 1959, Burgess became a full-time writer and went on to write a book a year up until his death in 1993. His many works include: The Complete Enderby, Tremor of Intent, The Kingdom of the Wicked and A Clockwork Orange.

Customer Reviews

"Oh, it was gorgeosity and yumyumyum."
This sentence from the second-to-last chapter of our modern Dante's journey through Hell sums up this book in many ways. Intellectually stimulating, violent, fun, beautiful, dark and open; you won't find a better dystopia.

The problems I tend to have with dark novels about possible futures are that the authors tend to be extremely proud of themselves, and this smugness can ruin a book--and also that the changes in society often seem too clever or silly for me to actually enjoy the story.

A Clockwork Orange, however, pleases the ear as much as it does the mind. Maybe this is because most of Burgess' new words are actually words stolen from other languages. Whatever the reason, this counter-culture comes off as eminently plausible; and one that embraces violence without condemning it is a refreshing change from all these didactic novels about the "dangers" of the nature of humanity.

Fantastic, yet complicated
I say complicated because of the language that's found throughout the novel. The entire book is written in first person, and we focus on Alex, whose language will be really hard for some people to get into. But if you read it the second or third time, then you'll understand what's happening and what the characters are trying to say.

Anthony Burgess's philosophical novel is a must-read. It deals with modern society and government experiments. Basically, the book discusses the idea of driving a criminal away from crime, but "at what cost?" Many scenes involving rape and violence are especially disturbing (I imagine that Stanley Kubrick's film version is just as gruesome). And the government testing scenes are fairly frightening. The last chapter of this book (the 21st) is now restored, as it has been omitted the first time this was published in the States. It's somewhat controversial, but I won't give you the details, you'll have to read it yourself.

A-

Fantastic novel
A Clockwork Orange is a great read for anyone interested in a unique and compelling story of a personal battle of a violent teen with his surroundings and inner-conscience. A Clockwork Orange draws in the simple reader with its raw brutality and violence and leaves them greatly affected with the social implications of this literary masterpiece.

Regarding the Russian-English slang spoken by the protagonist, Alex, and his fellow hoodlums; it's initially hard to comprehend, but after the first chapter, one should have no problem reading it.

This book is more than just a thriller - it also touches on the psychological and social aspects that are prevalent in today's society.