Rating: 2/5
Spoiler Alert! If you haven’t read the book, this review will contain spoilers so it’s up to you if you continue…
It's taken me three attempts but I have finally read A Clockwork Orange.
Admittedly the previous 2 attempts consisted of reading roughly three pages and giving up because I was impatient about understanding the nadsat speak, but this time I powered through and was able to finish the book without too much pain.
The language is definitely the most notable element of A Clockwork Orange. The plot is straight forward enough, there aren't many characters, and whilst there's plenty of discussion to be had around the theories within the novel, I'd say the first topic of any conversation attaining to this book would be based on the language.
It is definitely difficult. There is such a lot of slang that you can't read a sentence without having to confront it, and it's frustrating to flick back and forth to a glossary, or research every word. At about 50 pages in I felt like I was getting a hold on the slang, but up until that point it was tough to understand what was happening. The effect of this, however, is two fold; on the one hand, it's hard to get into and places you outside of the young gang of boys, but on the other hand the immersion in a new culture is, conversely, inclusive. Reading this book is a fight between being included in a violent gang of teenage boys - something forced on you by the way Alex addresses the reader and speaks only in nadsat - and remaining outside of them - likely what the reader would prefer considering the morality of the gang.
Linguistically, A Clockwork Orange would be a brilliant book to explore, as I'm sure many people have, but if you're reading it for pleasure, be prepared to work at it for a while. The narration does pull you in, with phrases such as 'Oh my brothers' and 'my friend', once you're past the initial language barrier, so much so that it can actually turn out to be difficult to pull yourself out of the story once you've figured out the slang.
This was particularly true in the middle of the story; Alex's imprisonment and, let's be honest, torture, were so interesting I barely put the book down once I reached them. Though it remains true that I have little sympathy for him, it's also true that when Alex was most alone was when I least wanted to leave him. He wasn't a sympathetic character, but there was something about the way he narrates A Clockwork Orange which makes it difficult not to become involved.
The exploration of conditioning takes a simple concept to the extreme, and makes for an interesting psychological and moral debate. Undoubtedly it is morally wrong to take away someones free will to the extent that it was displayed in Alex, but rewarding good behaviour and punishing bad behaviours a concept used daily by society. To take to the extreme in such a way obviously isn't right, but does create questions about where the line is between effective deterrent/behaviour control and loss of free will. Alex's lack of interest in what happened to means the debate is a struggle for the reader and the reader alone. They might become involved in his story because he invites them into it, but they are the only one's questioning it.
This is also highlighted by the narration; whilst it's clear Alex is aware of political motivations towards the end of the novel - such as his moment of clarity when he jumps from the window - his narration also leave the read ignorant of the much of the setting. Politically we know little more than that there is a desire to create prison space for political prisoners, geographically that he lives in a city with public transport, libraries, and bars. Piecing things together from Alex's narration certainly interested me and I love that Burgess used an unreliable narrator in such a subtle way; the focus on Alex's story means that everything else is background noise, even though it should be important.
I can't say A Clockwork Orange left me satisfied as a reader, but I will acknowledge that it's place in canon is not inexplicable (as I believe it is for many novels). Once past the language barrier, it's gripping enough, but the beginning is extremely tough to get into and I wouldn't blame anyone for DNFing it.
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