Publication

1989 - W. W. Norton & Company, New York, USA

Language

English

Purchase

Reading Length is an affiliate of the shops listed below, earning a percentage of your purchase as commission.

Word Count

0 words, Guess

Page Count

0 pages

Physical Format

Paperback

Identifiers

  • Internet Archiveclockworkorange00
  • ISBN-100393312836
  • ISBN-139780393312836
  • Goodreads56167874
  • Library of Congress Control Number89023843
and 1 more

Classifications

  • DDC823/.914
  • LCCPR6052.U638C5 1987
  • DDC823.914

Description

A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novel by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. The book is partially written in a Russian-influenced argot called "Nadsat", which takes its name from the Russian suffix that is equivalent to '-teen' in English. According to Burgess, it was a jeu d'esprit written in just three weeks. In 2005, A Clockwork Orange was included on Time magazine's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923, and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The original manuscript of the book has been kept at McMaster University's William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada since the institution purchased the documents in 1971. It is considered one of the most influential dystopian books. ---------- Also contained in: [A Clockwork Orange and Honey for the Bears](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL23787405W) [A Clockwork Orange / The Wanting Seed](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL17306508W)

First Sentence

'WHAT'S it going to be then, eh?'

Description

A vicious fifteen-year-old "droog" is the central character of this 1963 classic, whose stark terror was captured in Stanley Kubrick's magnificent film of the same title. In Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of the future, where criminals take over after dark, the story is told by the central character, Alex, who talks in a brutal invented slang that brilliantly renders his and his friends' social pathology. A Clockwork Orange is a frightening fable about good and evil, and the meaning of human freedom. When the state undertakes to reform Alex—to "redeem" him—the novel asks, "At what cost?" This edition includes the controversial last chapter not published in the first edition and Burgess's introduction "A Clockwork Orange Resucked". (back cover)

Subjects

Topics

rapeargotGangsbibleorgasmSátirasatire

Places

EnglandKorova Milk Bar

People

PetDimAlexGeorgeBillyboyCat WomanDr. Branom

Other Editions

Person reading a book and lounging on a couch