A Clockwork Orange Review
Imagine living in a society where cruelty and violence are the norm. In Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange, 15 year old Alex and his droogs (group of friends) give the reader a terrifying look at the future. The opening scene is very graphic, of a rape scene by all of the teens. Shortly after Alex and his friends continue to create trouble , by drinking alcohol and stealing money from a local store. The novel continues with vivid scenes of Alex and his crimes, until he is given the option to change his ways. Alex chooses to continue with his malicious acts, although soon finds it sickening to continue. The novel is told in modern day English although new language Burgess created for the novel is intergrated in . The language is called Nadsat which is based off Russian influenced English , it is only used by the teenagers in the book.
My favorite part of the book were the very vivid imagery used through out, so there was no guessing for the reader , everything was very descriptive. I also enjoyed the language used in the book because it made it unique, compared to dialogue in other books. At the same time the language could be confusing if it didnt make sense in context . This also made the book much
more of a difficult read , and much longer to decipher. The language as well as some of the more graphic scenes were my least favorite parts.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in science fiction, as well as political novels. The book is of very high literary quality with its definite imagery , detailed plots, and well defined characters. The book is not very long , which keeps the action and the events very entertaining and moving quickly. I think this novel would most appeal to an older audience mainly because of the mature content. I also believe that teachers would enjoy this book for its literary credibility , although would not teach it because of the graphic and mature scenes in the novel. Many school districts have banned the book from the curriculum for these reasons.
The book reviews for this novel had a very large range. There were many reviews praising the novel for its unique style such as Stephanie Ward who says The unique Nadsat language created by Burgess grabs the readers by the throat , wrenching them into his perversely alluring world (Ward, A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess. There were also some negative comments about the book that it was too complicated and inappropriate. Despite the conflicts with this book , Mary Balpa says Despite obvious differences in setting, teens everywhere can relate to the themes and events in A Clockwork Orange. Even 40 years after its original publication, the book continues to endure, holding a special place on bookshelves.( Balpa , A Clockwork Orange Review). Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to anyone.
Works Cited
Ward, Stephanie. A Clockwork Orange Anthony Burgess The English Review Sept.1999
Balpa, Mary A Clockwork Orange Review Teen ink review 2009
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