Book Review: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

What's it going to be then, eh?

I've watched A Clockwork Orange a few time, enjoyed it, and have had the book on my TBR for years. Since this year I'm trying to embrace more classics, I thought I'd finally pick this up. It was a decent read, but I'm not going to lie - I struggled.

I think the main thing putting me off was the language. The book is wrote in first person narrative by Alex, in Nadsat slang. It's a mix of Russian, Cockney rhyming slang and sometimes even made up words. There's no dictionary, so the reader has to slog through trying to piece together what Alex is saying. And at first, it feels like gobbledegook. But I found as the story progresses I got more use to the terminology and it was easier to deduce what Alex is going on about. It helped that I'd seen the movie too, as I had a rough outline of where the plot was going. Yes, the violence depicted is awful - but the language used also seems to diffuse the horror of it. It's as though Alex, the future narrator version, knows the viciousness of his crimes and he's trying to lure you into his world and make it seem less awful by the way he talks.

Alex is a deplorable character. He has no morals, no guilt at the actions he takes. However, he's not alone in acting this way. His drooges, or followers, allow and encourage his behaviour and the various victims that get in their way seem to almost accept their fate as a sign of the youth of today. His parents seem scared of him, his social worker and school do nothing to change his behaviour. Even after his time in prison, with his choice of actions taken away, Alex never seems to feel remorse for anyone other than himself. He laments only at his lost ability to envoke 'ultra violence' on those he chooses.

The last chapter was never included in the American release, or indeed in the film. I can understand why, as it seems to alter the readers overall perception of Alex that is built up throughout the novel. However, I liked the sudden change in tone and feel it gives a more optimistic outlook that people, when given the choice, can change for the better if they want to. Because that's what is at the heart of this novel. Choice and free will. I liked this more than I thought I would, and appreciated the overall message it was hoping to deliver.

A Clockwork Orange is available to purchase from: Amazon

 - 3 stars