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| books
and such... |
A
Clockwork Orange
by Anthony
Burgess
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192 pages Reissue
edition (June 1995)
W.W. Norton
& Company; ISBN: 0393312836
Novel by Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. Set in
a dismal dystopia, it is the first-person account of a juvenile
delinquent who undergoes state-sponsored psychological rehabilitation
for his aberrant behavior. The novel satirizes extreme political
systems that are based on opposing models of the perfectibility
or incorrigibility of humanity. Written in a futuristic slang
vocabulary invented by Burgess, in part by adaptation of Russian
words, it was his most original and best-known work. Alex,
the protagonist, has a passion for classical music and is
a member of a vicious teenage gang that commits random acts
of brutality. Captured and imprisoned, he is transformed through
behavioral conditioning into a model citizen, but his taming
also leaves him defenseless. He ultimately reverts to his
former behavior. The final chapter of the original British
edition, in which Alex renounces his amoral past, was removed
when the novel was first published in the United States.
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| articles
and reviews |
March 19, 1963
Books of The Times
"A Clockwork OrangeÓ is a brilliant novel. In young Alex,
Anthony Burgess has created the most interesting delinquent since
Pinky in Graham GreenÕs ÒBrighton Rock.Ó Alex is vicious, depraved,
anarchic, a pure little monster, and the purity of his dedication
to evil keeps lighting his deeds like some grotesque halo.
AlexÕs choice of evil is total and enthusiastic; his aimlessness
is electric, like a shark switching around to the nearest scent;
his intelligence is sharply practical and of a high order. The novel
is about this individual versus the State, which removes his capacity
for choice, turning him into a mass of conditioned reflexes, all
wholesome and good. It is a weird little morality tale, told in
a taut, telescoped style that gives the effect of a continuous close-up.
The narrator is Alex himself. [read
more]
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| resources |
- Anthony
Burgess Center - houses a collection of books and documents.
Provides samples of the collection, the current issue of the bi-annual
newsletter, information about the Anthony Burgess Society, and
more.
- Bohemian
Ink: Anthony Burgess - provides an excerpt, brief biography,
and links.
- Clockwork
Orange
- Clockwork
Orange Message Board
- Clockwork
Orange, A - pics, sounds, nadsat translator, and more.
- Clockwork
Orange, A [Michael W. Hacker]
- Clockwork
Web Page, A - student project featuring a Nadsat-English translation
guide, summaries, opinions, and biographies of Anthony Burgess
and Stanley Kubrick.
- Stanley
Kubrick in the Realm of Science Fiction - with information
on Dr. Strangelove and A Clockwork Orange.
- Stanley
Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange - covers the novel and the film.
- Critical
Look at A Clockwork Orange - includes discussions of themes,
contexts, and characters of the novel.
- The
Korova Milkbar - critical analysis of A Clockwork Orange.
Submissions and ideas are encouraged.
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