…the essential intention is the real sin. A man who cannot choose ceases to be a man.
— A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Book #21: A Clockwork Orange
” …It’s going to get worse, not better. A right dirty criminal world you lot are trying to build.”
“What’s it going to be then, eh?”
I have been meaning to read this book for a while. As in, I have started reading it multiple times, I have even tried to watch the movie, but I have failed each and every time. You would think that I would take this as a sign to not read the book, but I managed to this time and I am glad that I did.
A Clockwork Orange is set in Britain’s near-future. The world has become an awful place, a place where it is no longer safe to set foot outside after dark. You aren’t even safe in your own home anymore. The streets are ruled by teens who terrorize anyone they come across. Nothing is off limits to these guys.
This book was actually quite good, and I can see now why it has such a cult following. While there is an extreme amount of violence, I never felt like Burgess was glorifying the violence that he so vividly portrays. Another thing Burgess did extremely well was to invent the Nadsat language. This insured that the book would never become dated by the slang that the main characters use.
Through the three parts we follow young Alex and his band of droogs as they terrorize the streets. Eventually, Alex’s droogs turn on him and Alex is captured by the police where he undergoes treatment to stop his violent tendencies. In the UK version, Alex meets one of his old droogs in a tea-shop and realizes that he is not getting any younger and must give up his violent ways. A very happy ending to an otherwise morose book.
