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What's New
Review Features
S - Science Fiction
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
Complete Listing
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Adams, Douglas (S)
Asher, Neal (S)
Aylett, Steve (S)
Banks, Iain M (S)
Barclay, James (F)
Barker, Clive (H)
Baxter, Stephen (S)
Brin, David (S)
Bury, Stephen (S)
Card, Orson Scott (S)
Cherryh, CJ (S/F)
Clute, John (S)
Cockayne, Steve (F)
Cook, Glen (F)
Danielewski, Mark (H)
Dick, Philip K (S)
Egan, Greg (S)
Feist, Raymond (F)
Gaiman, Neil (F)
Gibson, William (S)
Goodkind, Terry (F)
Grimwood, Jon C (S)
Hamilton, Peter (S)
Jeter, K.W. (S)
Jordan, Robert (F)
Lethem, Jonathan (S)
McAuley, Paul (S)
MacLeod, Ken (S)
Martin, George RR (F)
McMullen, Sean (S)
Miéville, China (S)
Moran, Daniel K (S)
Morgan, Richard K (S)
Nagata, Linda (S)
Niven, Larry (S)
Noon, Jeff (S)
Robinson, Kim S. (S)
Rucker, Rudy (S)
Simmons, Dan (S)
Smith, Michael Marshall (S)
Stephenson, Neal (S)
Sterling, Bruce (S)
Vinge, Vernor (S)
Westerfeld, Scott (S)
Williams, Sean (S)
Williams, Tad (S/F)
Collections (S/F)
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| The Classics |
Bradbury, Ray (S/H)
Burgess, Anthony (S)
Tolkien, JRR (F) |
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| Anthony Burgess |
| Author Information |
Reviewed Books |
Other Books |
| Notes: (S) - Short Story Collection |
The Clockwork Orange
The Wanting Seed |
Olive Trees of Justice
Honey for the Bears
Inside Mr. Enderby
The Novel of Today
The Eve of Saint Venus
Language Made Plain |
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 Our
Ranking A Clockwork Orange truly is the classic
novel that it is now known as. I read this while in England for a week of business
and couldn't put it down, finishing it in two furious nights of reading over a
couple of pints. Before describing the book, I need to clarify something. There
are two versions of this book out, the European version (which is the original)
and the American version which the now incredibly famous Kubrik movie was based
on. The American book is missing the 21st chapter. Do yourself a favor and try
to get a copy with this chapter. The latest release in the US (the cover is the
one shown above) includes this chapter as well as a pretty funny foreward by Burgess
explaining why it was taken out. Now, onto the book. A Clockwork Orange is based
in a dark futuristic England where all has pretty much gone down the drain. Hooligans
own the city at night, rampaging about, looting, raping and attacking each other
as well as the citizens of the city. The story is told from the perspective of
your humble narrator, Alex a leader of one of these gangs of hooligans. You are
taken on a whirlwind of violence and destruction all so casually described by
Alex in his own version of street slang. (The slang takes a bit to get used to,
but once you begin to understand the vocabulary it really enriches the book. )
The story progresses telling the tales of Alex's adventures as well as his betrayal
and the consequences that are bestowed on him for his actions. The book explores
the meaning of good and evil as well as how society should handle and reform their
criminals. Is punishment for a crime enough if the criminal feels no guilt for
their actions? How should one truly be punished? Who is to blame, the family the
individual or even society itself? All of these and more are explored through
the dark twisted eyes of Alex. I can't stress enough the level of violence in
this book. However, it is all completely necessary in order for Burgess to deliver
home his points. It is also the very blunt violence, the kind that really drives
home. It is not described in gory detail but rather with such a casualness by
Alex. This description is so much more effective as well as brutal. The book is
completely fascinating, throughout it you find yourself debating every issue.
Never before have I flip flopped in my beliefs so much from reading a book. At
points I feel Alex is nothing but a monster, at others I pity him, and at others
still I actually sympathize for him and his plight. And these are just stages
in the book, you are sent through these emotions in a blender, all alternating
from chapter to chapter. The writing is also incredible. The slang, while difficult
to master, truly adds to the mood and drives home the culture of these hooligans.
The characters are simply brilliant with Alex being the wonderfully developed
center of it all. If ever there was a place the movie failed, it was here. The
movie didn't come even close to developing the characters as much as the book
did. Basically, A Clockwork Orange is simply a classic. It may be a tough pill
to swallow with the level of violence and language but it is one that needs to
be endured. It is utterly worth it at the end when you finish, with a half pint
of Boddington's left and you just sit back and think for a bit while nursing the
rest of your beer. Not many books have left me just wanting to contemplate after
I finish them. This one left me unable to get it out of my head for weeks. |
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 Our
Ranking The Wanting Seed is just as politically
charged and witty as A Clockwork Orange. Burgess holds back no punches, painting
a bleak future of overpopulation, mass starvation and shifting manipulative governments.
In a world where there is not nearly enough food to support the population, controls
are put in place to try to get the population to police themselves. Heterosexual
families are only allowed to have only one child. (However, if a family has more,
there is no true punishment for the crime, just mostly a social stigmata) Homosexuality
is not only preferred but it is glorified, leading to quicker job and social advancement
among the society. However, when these more self-policing policies fail in curbing
the population growth the government is forced to start enforcing the policies
themselves, launching the world into a police state. Burgess does an incredible
job of describing the cycle of the government and society of this world. There
is a speech in one of the very first chapters by the Tristam, that preaches the
cycles of government. He gives a quick summary to his class, showing where they
are now and where they inevitably must go when the current system fails. This
speech serves as the framework for the entire novel. As you read the actions of
the current political systems you can see where they will fail, what the short
coming will be and where they will fall to after they do fail. The frustrating
message that Burgess delivers is that it is a cycle, and a cycle of failure. Each
movement is doomed and there doesn't seem to be any alternative that will succeed.
In each one either the greed of the government, or the greed of business, or the
greed of the army or even the greed of the populace will drag it down. While the
message of the book, and the backdrop for the tale was superb, I struggled to
truly relate with the characters in this one. Especially after A Clockwork Orange,
where you find yourself so pulled into the characters, I was very disappointed
at how detached I was reading this one. There was no character that seemed real
enough for me to relate to. Each one was so extreme that it was tough to understand
their motivations. In addition the plot itself was really somewhat non existent.
It was basically a story of the characters being pulled by the political systems,
but there was no story driving them through the various phases. Overall this was
a very interesting, thought provoking novel. I wish the story had been a little
more visible over the backdrop of the political crisis, but otherwise I would
recommend this one. |
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