A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
First published 1962
212 pages
Published by Norton
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The wonderful She sent me this book, because I won her birthday giveaway. The winner got to choose one of She’s favorite books, and this was my choice because I knew it was considered one of those Important Books To Read, but I didn’t know why. And now I know, and thank you to She for 1) listing it as a favorite and 2) sending me a copy.
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Appypolly loggies in advance, as this post might drive you a bit bezoomy. But I thought you might like to viddy what it was like to read this dystopian novel, set in a futuristic England. At first glance, it all seems like chepooka, but after awhile it is possible to pony what most of the nadsat means.
Alex and his droogs are a bunch of teenage malchicks. For whatever reason, teenagers seem to rule the night…most lewdies are spoogy of the bandas of baddiwad malchicks that crast and oobivat their way through the city. Until they’re loveted by the millicents, as Alex was. Then they itty to staja.
Unfortunately for Alex, after two years in staja, he becomes the test case for the Ludovico Technique. Alex really had no idea what he was agreeing to…all he knew was that he wanted out of staja. And he was going to get to eat some pishcha and viddy some sinny.
Thing is, the lewdies in charge never really skazat Alex what would sloochat to his mozg after they gave him an injection and forced him to watch some violent sinny. And they didn’t really prepare him for what would happen when they sent him back to his em and pee.
And yes, there’s a nadsat dictionary to help you understand what all of the teenage-speak means. But really, you can understand the story without constantly flipping back and forth. Most of the words are used in context at some point. And evidently, if you know Russian, it comes in quite handy, as many of the words are derived from Russian. For example, lewdies is from lyudi, or people. Other words are slang, such as sinny for cinema, or movies. Not what you might have expected, eh?
However, this book is way more than its invented language. While it doesn’t get all philosophical, it does bring up a person’s right to free will, and also whether it’s truly possible for a person to change.
The book is divided up into 3 sections, each with 7 chapters (the number of total chapters being intentional, as a way of symbolizing Alex reaching adulthood). However, the US version of the novel was originally published without the final chapter, which the American publisher felt was too unrealistic (Stanley Kubrick evidently agreed, as the movie is also missing the ending that Burgess wrote). However, the novel is now published with the missing chapter, which I thought was very symbolic of how kids change and grow into an awareness of themselves. Without the final chapter, the book ending just seems sensationalistic.
If you’re having second thoughts about reading this because of the language, don’t. It’s real horrorshow (which ironically means good…because this book is good and also a bit of a horror show) and totally worth it. Like I said, most of the nadsat can be figured out in context. And if that fails, there is a dictionary.
And no, I haven’t watched the movie. Yet. Anyone interested in a twitter movie night?
I have heard so much about this book, but honestly, the made up language might drive me a bit nuts. It’s good to hear that there is a dictionary in the book, because I am worried that I would have so much trouble with it otherwise. This review has really piqued my interest in the book anew, and I am off to see what I can find. Thanks, Jill!
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The dictionary isn’t actually in the book (at least, not my edition), but it’s easy to find online.
*laugh* Ah, Jilly-jill, you horrorshow soomka! I just about platched with smecking at this.
I have to confess to using the dictionary!
I watched the movie version over a decade ago and admit it made me so sick to my stomach that I still can’t think about it to this day. Many of my drug and violence phobias come from this one, American Psycho, and Trainspotting – the three movies I wish I could erase from my head and never think of again. Of course that means I will never, ever read this book. I’m not scared of the slang, but I don’t think I could handle the violence. Especially not if it’s anything like the movie.
Interesting to know about the ending, though.
I was actually thinking about you when I was praising the book…that you wouldn’t like it at all.
God, that comment took WAY too long to formulate…
So, apart from that, I’m curious, I’ve ONLY seen the movie, bvut one thing htat struck me was the source of all the slang: a mixture of cockney rhyming slang, Russian, Romany (Gypsy), and then plain old schoolkid cutesy talk. I suppose I wondered why. IF it weren’t for the addition of Russian, I might guess that he was simply producing a sort of hyperbole of actualy slang, which does contain elements of the remainder of those words. But the Russian is interesting to me – in the social context of the time, particularly, all of the sources imply seocial denigration, an erosion of ‘solid middle class values’ – Cockney was the language of the London street ‘trash’, the Roma/Gypsy have never been particularly well-loved, Russia was the nation that had and continued to turn its social system topsy turvy (more than one person connected Stalin’s nastiness to his social class background, for instance), and then of course the cutesy rhyme slang was the language of the publican (rich kids at places like Eton having their own strange little dialects, as I understand). Its very easy to read all the sections you highlight in a pretty heavy cockney (ie poor) cant, but more difficult to read them in a more traditionally respectable inflection – imagine, say, Winston Churchill narrating this book, its not an easy thing. In general this disturbed me, simply by its implication that the rising power of the working class in Britain, the democratization of the country, was being presented as an inevitable descent into a chaos ruled by the ‘trash’ of the nation – an idea that still holds persistence now, I think, in parts of the British consciousness, and whcih makes me very uncomfortable (John Cleese, for instance, recently stated that he had moved to Bath because London wasn’t ‘English’ enough anymore). In America we complain about this too, of course – people hate, say, Snooki because she’s ‘trashy’ – if in a slightly different way. I wonder if the book felt that way, as much as the movie did?
PS, reading those passages in John Cleese’s voice – equally difficult. Well, without falling into Monty Python ridiculousness.
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But Alex also loves classical music, and he speaks in a hoity-toity fashion, on occasion. So I didn’t really get that vibe from the book. Really, it was just the teenaged bad boys that spoke that way…in the last chapter, Alex meets a former friend who married a young girl, and she has no clue what Alex is saying half the time.
I was left wondering where the Russian influence came from, though…because there’s no political backstory, so who knows how this future came to be.
I have NEVER had the desire to read this, but your review actually makes me want to! And the teenspeak stuff is not as difficult as I imagined it would be… at the very beginning I thought you were just doing that to be funny and I laughed but then I remembered that about the book. I did see part of the movie as a teenager… I remember nothing except that my friend and I had both fallen asleep and I woke up to a scene of what appeared to be a big or* gy with lots of people not wearing clothes. LOL!
Bad stuff certainly happens in the book, but I didn’t feel it was that sensationalistic, like the movie might’ve been.
softdrink´s last [type] ..The 4 Things Meme
What in intense book! I’ve taggedyou in a meme http://www.helensbookblog.com/2011/04/four-things-meme.html
Out of all of the reviews I’ve read of this book, no one has mentioned the teenspeak. How is that possible?
I just watched a clip from the movie, an apparent rape scene was deleted but even without it, the clip was so disturbing that I don’t think I could do a Twitter movie-thon of it.
Ti´s last [type] ..Winner of The Murderer’s Daughters
Really?? No one mentioned the teenspeak? I don’t see how that’s possible either.
softdrink´s last [type] ..The 4 Things Meme
I was unaware of this aspect, too. huh
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I felt like I couldn’t read when I started your review… literally wondered what happened, and then realized it was supposed to be like that, haha! Oh my gosh, I don’t know if I could take an entire book of feeling out of the loop. I remember being told not to watch this movie a long time ago (I was 11, so now that I see the review and the comments, that makes sense). Don’t know if I’d make it through now, but might be willing to give it a shot.
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Good review. On the money. I read it twice and every time you feel the same. Out of sync with things. Well done.
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I have been avoiding this one because of the language, even though I know I could probably figure out everything from context. It still kind of makes me crazy though, because I know I’d probably wind up double- and triple-reading everything, much like I did with this post!
I read this in high school or college and don’t remember too much about it except that I thought I was quite sophisticated as I read it.
not sure this would be the read for me. i’m having a hard enough time keeping up with novels written in english, lately! i give you credit for diving into this one, though. it is one of those ‘i need to read this book because it’s important’ ones! as summer draws near, i need to ease up and read some easy chick lit by the pool!
nat @book, line, and sinker´s last [type] ..Review- The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
Yep, definitely plan to read it at some point. The closest thing I’ve read is Feed by M.T. Anderson which contains a lot of teenagery, made-up language. Good stuff!
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Oh Jill. Oh sweet, sweet Jill. You just had to go and post a review of my nemesis. I know I would like this if I would just get past page three. But I can’t. I keep trying and failing. Bad me.
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That’s okay. I can’t get through Pride and Prejudice.
softdrink´s last [type] ..The 4 Things Meme
Girl, I saw the movie in college and it still sticks with me. My fiance actually dressed up as Alex for halloween one year. He was Jesus the year before. Perhaps I should have realized we were destined to have issues.
Anyways, I haven’t read the book YET but it is on my shelf.
I saw this movie in college (well, part of it…I had to leave). If you have a thing about eyes or having things touching your eyes (even little puffs of air from glaucoma tests like I do) DO NOT see this movie.
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Glad you liked it and awesome review!
As for the movie… it is pretty cringe worthy (It’s a Kubrick). I really liked it,
or perhaps I should say appreciated it, but I can see why a lot of people wouldn’t. There’s violence, sex, nakedness, harassment, etc. HOWEVER, it is almost exactly as I pictured the book to be which has rarely, if ever, happened to me. So, I guess looking at the book and trying to picture it as a movie, it’s easy to understand why it might be freaky deaky to a lot of people. If you do watch it, I hope you appreciate it too. ;p
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OMG – I have always wanted to read this, not knowing about the language but now I am totally turned off. How can you understand the book? I barely understood half of your post!
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I hated the movie so I’m thinking I can safely skip this one
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I loved this book, although I haven’t seen the movie. The first few pages were slightly difficult to get into, because of the nadsat (my copy didn’t have a dictionary at the back), but as you said, the words are used in context, so figuring it out is not difficult.
I did like the contradictions in Alex’s character – Beethoven and violence…
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Ha! Thank you for not writing the entire review in nadsat–but you certainly prove your point.
this is one that I’ve wanted to read because I think it’s important but have been too intimidated for some reason to pick it up. And the cover might give me nghtmares. But you’ve got me intrigued!
Trish´s last [type] ..Wordless Wednesday- Getting a Good Picture
I read it a few years ago, but my copy didn’t have that final chapter. So have I really read it, my droogs?
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I have to read this book. I have no good reason for not having done so (being slightly afraid isn’t a good reason!) And your reassurances about the language are much appreciated. I’ve seen the movie several times but that’s no excuse! Your review has made me excited and anxious to read this book. Thank you! And thank you for a great review!
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I love the movie, but somehow I’ve never read the book. I should do that.
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This one’s on my classics list, actually. Yes, I am a little intimidated by the language, but if you say not to be, I’ll do my best!
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