To call this book "dystopian", as so many seem inclined to do, is a complete misrepresentation of it. It's contemporary social satire that's just as relevant today as it was when first published in the early 1960s.
What makes this book difficult is not so much the mindless violence that the narrator engages in or the nadsat language that he uses, but moreover the directness with which Burgess wrote the story. He didn't soften it by loading it up with metaphors, he went straight for the jugular.
The satire in this book clearly attacks at least three aspects of society, each given their own section in the book:
Part one takes a shot at the choice, notions of "free will" are closely examined in this book, of Alex and his cohorts to freely engage in hooliganism and mindless crime for no other reason than that they can. Alex revels in it, glorifies himself through it and makes no apologies. Alex is not written to be likable, he is neither protagonist nor anti-hero; he is simply Alex who exercised his free will contrary to how we would have liked to see him do it.
Part two attacks corrupt, hypocritical governments and other power structures and what they do with their powers when left unchecked. After Alex is simply thrown in prison for his crimes, he hears of a new experimental method of "reforming" criminals in such a way that they will not ever re-offend. Officially, this is done to ease the burden on the prison system. Realistically, it's a disturbing and invasive behavioral control mechanism that goes much deeper than simply eradicating Alex's criminal tendencies; it stifles his ability to take much joy in life at all, criminal or benign. The classical music he was passionate about before the "treatment" is unbearable to him after. What they do to "reform" Alex is pure abuse of power and no less disturbing than anything Alex himself ever did.
Part three takes a run at anti-government groups and how they use, and often abuse, people. After his release from prison. Alex eventually and unwittingly finds his way into the company of a man who he horribly victimized in the first part and two other men representing and anti-government organization. Initially, they see Alex as a potential "poster boy" for their cause and intend to use him as evidence to the public of how evil the government is; however, a combination of Alex's former victim eventually recognizing Alex for who he really is and Alex later trying to take his own life sees the anti-government movement abandon Alex almost as quickly as they rallied around him. Their only interest in him was as a tool for their cause.
This book challenges the reader because it gives no true protagonist to bond to, in fact it strives to keep a distance between the reader and the narrator and the nadsat slang is a big part of how that's done. The slang is not actually that difficult to figure out as there is enough standard English to give context. The key is that nadsat works exactly as slang should, that is as an exclusionary language; every generation creates its own slang to confuse older, more authoritative generations and to keep them somewhat in the dark.
Burgess places the reader in the position of being a bystander to the goings on in the story; close enough that we can see, but still outside of it and not directly involved. Disturbingly like watching a television newscast these days.
misspent youth, government corruption and anti-government groups of often dubious motives existed at the time Burgess wrote this book and they still exist today; they are timeless things. As such, this book is anything but dystopian; it's uncomfortably contemporary.
As for the film adaptation; that was certainly not one of Stanley kubrick's finest hours. It only very loosely follows the story, cuts out a lot of critical events and adjusts certain characters' physical qualities to the point where a lot of the shock value is lost.
Read this edition of the book for best effect. The notes, essays and interviews at the end are very enlightening and add greatly to the overall reading experience.
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An Overall Classic That Can Be Applied To The World Today
Easily one of the best books around. I got around to it a bit late in life I feel like but better late than never. First and foremost, the main character Alex is the biggest draw in. His attitude of trying to get what he wants by any means necessary regardless of who it hurts is something that makes a unique and interesting protagonist. The language of the book is also very well crafted, pretty sure I'm going to be calling milk "moloko" for the rest of my life now. The way the book speaks on juveniles is fascinating to think about and the way it can apply today years after this book been published. I've met all kinds of kids who were up to the wrong things and how they were handled after they got caught and this book really goes into that. It makes you think, "can people like 'Alex' really be corrected from there ways on immediate apprehension or do they simply grow out of it?" Any book that makes you ask big questions about the world around you is clearly a good read.This book is very "adult" and I can't recommend it to anyone that is too young. I would say maybe high school age is the youngest someone should read it.Bought both the Hardcover and Paperback editions. Really like the hardcover because it looks exactly like the original version that was published when the book first came out. Paperback is fine but the material is very thin and slippery. So point being, it's an easy tear if you're not too careful.
Top reviews from other countries
Lucas Bolton
Anthony Burgess’ Statement on the Security Risk of Authoritarian Control
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2024
MEDE
Erschreckend gut
Reviewed in Germany on May 20, 2023
MEDE
Reviewed in Germany on May 20, 2023
Zur Kindle-Version:
Ich finde die Kindle-Version ok, aber nicht perfekt. Es ist toll, dass es Seitenzahlen gibt, das ist leider nicht immer so. Was mir fehlt, sind die Angaben zu der besonderen Wortwahl des Protagonisten. Wörter wie 'slovo', 'bratchnies', 'vonny', 'viddy' usw. werden nicht angegeben. Und leider sind diese besonderen Wörter, die der Protagonist benutzt, ein Merkmal des Buches, sie kommen in fast jedem Satz vor. Das ist ein absolutes Minus.
Zum Inhalt:
Ich werde nicht spoilern, sondern nur kurz etwas allgemein zum Inhalt sagen. Grob gesagt, dreht es sich um einen jungen 14jährigen Kriminellen, der raubt, schlägt und mordet. Nachdem er gefasst wird, soll eine neuartige Umerziehung an ihm durchgeführt werden. Erzählt wird die Geschichte aus der Ich-Perspektive, also aus Sicht des Kriminellen.
Die Geschichte ist sehr brutal, aber dennoch lesenswert. Man bekommt einen Einblick in die Gefühlswelt des Protagonisten, die absolut schonungslos ehrlich ist.
Zur Sprache:
Das Buch bedient sich einer sehr besonderen Sprache. Der Protagonist bedient sich eines Slangs, der durch seine besondere Wortwahl gekennzeichnet ist. Viele Substantive kommen aus dem slawischen Sprachbereich (z.B. 'moloko', 'slovo' usw.) aber auch aus dem Deutschen (z.B. 'Kartoffel' oder 'von' werden benutzt). Ich habe ein Bild als Textbeispiel angefügt. Als Nicht-Muttersprachler ist das sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig. Dennoch versteht man komischerweise worum es geht. Man kann sich die Bedeutung viele Wörter mit Hilfe des Kontextes erschließen. Dennoch sollte man schon recht gute Englischkenntnisse besitzen, sonst sollte man es nicht im Original lesen. Einfaches Schulenglisch reicht eher nicht, denke ich.
Vielleicht hilft das ja als Orientierung.
Vielen Dank für das Lesen meiner Rezension. Ich hoffe, sie ist hilfreich. :)
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