A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
1962
Around 175 pages
I found the movie adaptation absolutely revolting when the 1001 Movie List strapped me down and made me watch it. I knew the book would likely be just as disturbing. We are entering a hat trick of novels concerning violence against women, so let's just get through this.
Our teenaged protagonist Alex DeLarge is a violent sociopath, who happens to enjoy Beethoven. I guess this is supposed to hint at him being deep, I'm not really sure. He commits horrific acts after drinking drug laced milk with his band of thugs, which are called "droogs." And that's honestly the one point I will give this novel. His technique of inventing slang keeps the novel fresh, and I always appreciate it when authors can create their own dialect. Anyway, when the law finally catches up to him, he is subjected to behavior modification therapy called the Ludovico Technique, designed to make him feel nauseous at the thought of violence.
I guess Burgess was addressing a very particular time when England was frightened of its own youth culture. Rightfully so, I guess, 60s youth are scary. It was a brutal read and it creeps me out to think of how many young men connected with Alex. Ick.
RATING: *----
Interesting Facts:
Written in three weeks.
Burgess stated that the novel's inspiration was his first wife Lynne's beating by a gang of drunk American servicemen stationed in England during World War II. She then miscarried.
UP NEXT: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
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