Rezensionen
Over the three days it took me to read the story I was continually rewarded with a headache from trying to decipher its God awful slang system, having to Google some of the least used terms when I was just absolutely stuck. It makes the story unapproachable and unnecessary obtuse in flow when you're continually having to either Google what it means or go back and reread for context clues only to find out that Alex was talking about a knife, teeth, money, books, girls, and whatever else comes to text. The theme of nature vs conditioned behavior is nothing special whatsoever. Alex's violent nature makes him irredeemable so to posit that he is willing to turn his life around because he wants to have a kid after he sees one of his former droogs in a Café is just lazy and ridiculous. I don't get it. The opening scene of Kubrick's adaption is great though so there's one positive thing I can say about the text.
It took me a long, long time to read A Clockwork Orange. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read it; a lot of people had told me that it was extremely weird, with some people even said it was unsettling to read. A banned cult classic, I finally ordered a copy after nine years of debating whether to read it or not.Now, the first time I opened this book, I’m not even gonna lie, this was me:I understood absolutely nothing, and was quickly regretting that maybe I had screwed up buying this, for quite a large price (I ordered a snazzy little banned books copy that is just super pretty and smart). I flicked through to the glossary at the back (a six page glossary… Burgess creating a whole new language out here) and sat, studying it for about ten minutes.I came back to the story and well, this is how I just stared at the first few pages.Eventually I just buckled up and forced myself to sit down and read through it, because I knew that eventually, like any other language, I’d make comparisons, notice what words would fit into the sentences to make sense, and after the second chapter, everything started to make sense.(Off topic but, it’s truly amazing just how quickly your brain adapts to something, especially when you want to read it)What I discovered when I finally started to understand the language Burgess had created, and I was in shock. I found myself on a journey through violence and society, horrendous testing and experiments, and a slow, steady decision finally made by Alex, our main character.This book really shows the differences in society, it’s a long revision into a society that was for a while, something that we lived in. The Young versus The Old, The Hooligans versus The Sophisticated. It’s a line in society that has been said to stand for years, but never have I seen a book that investigates and looks into it as much as A Clockwork Orange has. In just 150 pages, Burgess creates a whole world that isn’t too far away from society, and tells a story of violence, maturity and relationships that not many author have attempted. This is a stunning piece of art, that truly brings to life the world that we used to live in, and a world that many people attempted to say didn’t exist. This simple, short book, has really changed my view and perspective of a lot of the world.Burgess takes a whole new style of writing that I have never read before, even in other books released in the 1960’s, and I found it highly intriguing. Burgess writes in such a unique way, there’s no way that anyone could possibly mistake his works for anyone else. A master with a pen, Anthony Burgess’ art will stick with me for a long time.When I finished this, I actually teared up a little, and I just sat, staring at the closed book. I need a sequel to this book, I really do.This is a pure work of art, I recommend it fully to everyone. This is a must read for everyone out there. Definitely read this before you watch the movie; the movie changed the ending a lot, but the book ending is much, much more preferable. Read this. You won’t regret it.