Clockwork Orange, a (1962) [Novel]
by Anthony Burgess
Rating: Weighted - 7.9 / Average - 7.9 of 10 (112 votes) (Rate!)
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Summary
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A vicious fifteen-year-old droog is the central character of this classic. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. And when the state undertakes to reform Alex to "redeem" him, this novel asks, "At what cost?"
Original title: A Clockwork Orange
Original languages:
English
Quotes:
Genre: Fiction→ Science Fiction→ Political→ Dystopia/Utopia
Fiction→ General Fiction→ Literary Fiction/classics→ Post-modern, Avant-garde, & Experimental
Notes:
- Some American editions omit the final chapter, much to the chagrin of the author
- Anthony Burgess originally sold the movie to Mick Jagger for $500 when he needed quick cash. Jagger intended to make it with the Rolling Stones as the droogs.
- The language spoken by Alex and his droogs is author Anthony Burgess's invention, "Nadsat": a mix of English, Russian and slang.
- Anthony Burgess absolutely despised Kubrick's movie - particularly because he received no money from it. When Kubrick retreated behind his castle after the movie was hysterically received, Burgess was left to deal with a movie he did not authorize, made from a book he didn't even particularly like. Years later, Burgess wrote a stage version of A Clockwork Orange where the first character to step onto the stage had a remarkable resemblance to Kubrick. The rest of the cast members then proceed to beat the Kubrick-doppelganger.
Links:
- Movie :: Information on the Kubrick's adaption of the novel [IMDB]
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