First Kindle Read---'A Clockwork Orange'

I've done it, I've read a book (well, a novella) on my Kindle for the first time. Admittedly, it was A Clockwork Orange, so not some brand-spanking-new piece of fiction.

I must confess, I was blissfully ignorant of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. I've never seen the film, nor did I really have any comprehension as to what the story entailed. I've been vaguely aware that the film in particular is a fairly popular cultural reference, especially the iconic outfit (which was admittedly lost on me).

Now, a simple synopsis is as follows (not a comprehensive one, don't want to spoil it!)

It is a dystopian story as told from the view of a somewhat flawed narrator, Alex. He and his 'droogs' (or friends) make up a mini gang, and they perform random yet planned acts of  so-called 'ultra violence' on their own community. Vicious beatings and theft alongside severe sexual perversions of gang rape and child rape. During an ill-fated burglary attempt from an old woman's home, Alex's mutinous droogs injure him and leave our narrator to be captured by the police. During his stint in prison, he is selected as a subject for a controversial, government backed therapy which promises to render him 'cured' and normal. After the harsh and traumatic process, where Alex is taught to feel sick at the mere thought of violence, he is released back into society. It is then, however, that a group of men who are opposed to the government's use of state brutality to destroy all individuality and choice, decide to use Alex as an example for their cause.

Firstly, I must point out that Burgess uses an experimental language, Nadsat, a mix between Russian and English slang words, in order to create a coded language that the book's narrator consistently uses. Examples include 'droogs' as mentioned above, 'nochy' which means night, 'platties' meaning clothes, 'rooker' being an arm and so on. When I first started the book, I wasn't entirely sure I would even finish reading it. Initially, I found the Nadsat language off-putting, but by the end of the book I felt like I was strangely a part of Alex's world and thoughts, and even knew what the words meant without having to look them up. This, however, leads onto my other concern. Part One of the book was extremely troubling due to the basic nature of the story. Alex is a sociopath, and we are privy to his innermost thoughts, yet we are also given a first hand view of his amoral and violent actions. It felt, quite simply, voyeuristic. Cleverly on Burgess' part however, nothing is overly described. I personally felt that there was just enough detail to give a simple picture of the violence, and the rest was left to my imagination.

This brings me onto Alex himself. As the narrator, and arguably the protagonist, he subjects the reader to a horrific moral dilemma. He is unruly, repulsive and brutal, however I would suggest he is simultaneously a charismatic figure. He is bright, extremely knowledgeable and somewhat obsessive regarding classical music, and honestly doesn't regard his violent crimes as a major problem. His initial behaviour is shocking and animalistic, especially his calculated decision to ply two young girls with alcohol and rape them, yet for some inexplicable reason I pitied him during the gruelling therapy and on his hasty release from prison. Society isn't entirely sure what to do with him, and how they actually want him to behave. Thus I personally view him as a tragic figure, who does mature to a certain degree, but he ultimately ends the story with a somewhat fatalistic attitude to the cyclical nature of violence and crime. Dare I say a dark coming-of-age story?

Would I recommend this book? To those not easily offended, most definitely. Any writer who can create such a beastly character yet still evoke feelings of pity must certainly be praised. If this was on a syllabus at university, I would gladly have written endless academic essays on it. A short review like this doesn't really do it justice, hence my rather brief and fairly obvious statements. Overall it is an incredibly haunting novella, namely because of Alex and his misdeeds, but also I would cite Burgess' knack for exploring troubling components in society. Although written in 1962, this story easily transcends to the modern day, where there are constant fears of troublesome youths armed with weapons, and no-one offering an effective solution of how they should be dealt with. It is ultimately a novella of dystopian extremes. Alex's extreme sociopathic tendencies; the extreme therapy to 'cure' him of his violent ways and make him a limp, characterless puppet for society's will; the extreme brutality and corruption within the police force and government; the extreme manipulation of the men who wish to use Alex as a political tool. I found it captivating, and the one word I would consistently use to describe this story would be haunting.