Antony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange

Now this is one of the greatest, oddest, creepiest, and sad books I’ve ever read. I was reluctant to review this text because honestly, I had no idea where to even start. But according to general consensus it is one of the ‘essential’ books for any teenager to read, so it can’t be that difficult to review.

Our narrator, Alex, is a 15-year-old delinquent (basically). He uses an odd form of slang (Nadsat) which makes this book memorable. This language distinguishes Alex from the others and creates a harsh contrast between the mindset of adults and Alex and his droogs (friends).

This text is horrifically violent and if you’re sensitive to this then A Clockwork Orange is not for you. I found it bearable, but still I should warn. What I found really disturbing about the violence is that it was from Alex and his friends view, and there disregard or lack of respect for their victims (even their ages), rather than in the description. The creepiest part is that their desire for violence and their actions stem from teenage boredom and easy access to narcotics.

The ‘Ludovico’ method imposed by the government to brainwash criminals into becoming the ‘perfect citizen’ and making them physically unwell if they desire to commit a crime, is interesting because I bet some government somewhere after reading or hearing about this book thought about doing this. This technique is used on Alex after being caught, but this effectively denies Alex the ability to tell right from wrong. Burgess has opened up a can of worms on freedom versus obedience being forced for the good of society.

While this is a clever description of the life lessons learned as you journey to adulthood it also imposes multiple questions. Can the government interfere with the moral agent of citizens for the somewhat ‘greater good’? the similarities between this and George Orwell’s 1984 are astounding, and it almost feels like these literary geniuses are trying to warn us of what society could become.