∎ PDF A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 2015393312836 Books

A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 2015393312836 Books

Download As PDF : A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 2015393312836 Books

A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 2015393312836 Books

The novel begins: "'What's it going to be then, eh?'
There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, Dim being really dim, and we sat at the Korova Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. . . ."

With that, the action begins as Alex and his three thugs go out for action, ultraviolence, and the like. This is a portrayal of England at some future point. While much of the focus on this book has been conditioned by Stanley Kubrick's stunning movie, the central point is the society versus the individual. After his depredations finally bring him to "justice," Alex is subject to treatment that rids him of his violent behavior--at the cost of taking away his personality (and, as an unexpected consequence, his ability to enjoy Beethoven).

In a sense, then, this novel is about a dystopia. This version, apparently, is closer to the Kubrick version; the ironic final chapter is missing. This version ends as Kubrick's movie did, with Alex "cured" of the conditioning that took away his individuality, with the final line being: "I was cured all right" as he listened to Beethoven without pain. The 21st chapter, as noted, leaves one with a far different feeling at the close of this classic.

It takes a while to get used to the language used by Alex and his peers, a mixture of Russian and English (for the most part). There is a glossary at the end, which is helpful. For instance, devotchkas are girls; tolchok is hitting or pushing; nozh is knife. In the end, a powerful work.


Tags : A Clockwork Orange [Anthony Burgess] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong><em>Great Music, it said, and Great Poetry would like quieten Modern Youth down and make Modern Youth more Civilized. Civilized my syphilised yarbles.</em></strong> A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future,Anthony Burgess,A Clockwork Orange,W. W. Norton & Company,0393312836,Literary,Criminals,Juvenile delinquents,Science fiction,Science fiction.,Teenage boys,20TH CENTURY ENGLISH NOVEL AND SHORT STORY,BURGESS, ANTHONY - PROSE & CRITICISM,Classics,FICTION Classics,FICTION Dystopian,FICTION Literary,FICTION Psychological,Fiction,Fiction-Literary,FictionScience Fiction - General,GENERAL,General Adult,Great BritainBritish Isles,Literature - Classics Criticism,Literature: Texts,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction,Science Fiction - General,United States

A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess 2015393312836 Books Reviews

A Clockwork Orange is Anthony Burgess's most famous novel, though you'll quickly find out that it isn't his favorite. This book has been the basis for some highly iconic scenes in cinema, and it's easy to see why it's such a famous book.

The story takes place is run-down version of London, following Alex, a gang leader whose two loves are gratuitous violence and classical music. After a robbery gone bad, Alex ends us a test subject for a new treatment to turn bad men good.

Burgess has developed a style on his own to write this book. The novel uses a massive amount of future slang that is at first super confusing. But after a few paragraphs, you'll be able to figure out what everything means. It certainly makes for an interesting experience.

The introduction for this edition is also notable, in that it directly calls attention to the novels main flaw. Like I said, Burgess himself doesn't like this book that much, citing the fact that he felt his themes of free will and morality were to heavy handed. And they are. But I feel like the book is worth reading in spite of that.
Whether or not you consider this a nihilist novel all depends on whether you read the final (21st) chapter, which was omitted from the novel’s American edition when it was originally published. Then again, even after reading the 21st chapter, whether or not you consider this a nihilist novel could depend on your interpretation of that final chapter (sincere? ironic? deceptive? unreliable?).

This intentionally ambiguous conclusion tops off the careful structure of the novel, which is divided into three sections, with the first and third providing mirrored bookends to the center section. In the first section, Alex (or Your Humble Narrator) and his droogs (who all speak a slang vernacular called Nadsat) wreak havoc among their community—attacking and beating a library patron, committing robbery, rape, and other heinous crimes. In the second section, Alex—after being arrested and imprisoned—undergoes a radical form of rehabilitation that conditions him against violence. In section three, Alex is released from prison after having been allegedly cured of his violent disposition. He then encounters all the victims of the crimes he committed in the first section. Throughout, Alex comments on the vapid meaninglessness of the world—his response to which will inform your understanding of the novel’s central themes, which in turn depends upon that final chapter.

This novel has earned its reputation as a contemporary classic, if a book published more than 50 years ago can be considered contemporary. Its profundity eclipses its brief length (barely more than 200 pages); nihilistic or not, *A Clockwork Orange* confronts you with frightening questions about the human capacity for violence and human nature itself.
Easily one of the best books around. I got around to it a bit late in life I feel like but better late than never. First and foremost, the main character Alex is the biggest draw in. His attitude of trying to get what he wants by any means necessary regardless of who it hurts is something that makes a unique and interesting protagonist. The language of the book is also very well crafted, pretty sure I'm going to be calling milk "moloko" for the rest of my life now. The way the book speaks on juveniles is fascinating to think about and the way it can apply today years after this book been published. I've met all kinds of kids who were up to the wrong things and how they were handled after they got caught and this book really goes into that. It makes you think, "can people like 'Alex' really be corrected from there ways on immediate apprehension or do they simply grow out of it?" Any book that makes you ask big questions about the world around you is clearly a good read.

This book is very "adult" and I can't recommend it to anyone that is too young. I would say maybe high school age is the youngest someone should read it.

Bought both the Hardcover and Paperback editions. Really like the hardcover because it looks exactly like the original version that was published when the book first came out. Paperback is fine but the material is very thin and slippery. So point being, it's an easy tear if you're not too careful.
The novel begins "'What's it going to be then, eh?'
There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie, and Dim, Dim being really dim, and we sat at the Korova Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. . . ."

With that, the action begins as Alex and his three thugs go out for action, ultraviolence, and the like. This is a portrayal of England at some future point. While much of the focus on this book has been conditioned by Stanley Kubrick's stunning movie, the central point is the society versus the individual. After his depredations finally bring him to "justice," Alex is subject to treatment that rids him of his violent behavior--at the cost of taking away his personality (and, as an unexpected consequence, his ability to enjoy Beethoven).

In a sense, then, this novel is about a dystopia. This version, apparently, is closer to the Kubrick version; the ironic final chapter is missing. This version ends as Kubrick's movie did, with Alex "cured" of the conditioning that took away his individuality, with the final line being "I was cured all right" as he listened to Beethoven without pain. The 21st chapter, as noted, leaves one with a far different feeling at the close of this classic.

It takes a while to get used to the language used by Alex and his peers, a mixture of Russian and English (for the most part). There is a glossary at the end, which is helpful. For instance, devotchkas are girls; tolchok is hitting or pushing; nozh is knife. In the end, a powerful work.