A Clockwork Orange Hardcover - 2005

Anthony Burgess wrote more than 40 novels, but A Clockwork Orange is certainly his most famous. The novel is set in a not-too-distant future English society, namely characterized by a subculture of extreme youth violence. Alex, the unapologetic teenaged protagonist, narrates his exploits and experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. This narration — in a fictional slang called nadsat — is an experiment in language, combining elements of Russian and Cockney English. In fact, the title of the novel itself is taken from an old Cockney expression: “As queer as a clockwork orange.”

The US edition of the novel was published without the final chapter, in which Alex grows up to renounce violence. Burgess strongly disapproved of the decision, arguing that it distorted the novel into a tale of unredeemable evil — far from the author’s original intention. Ironically, the US edition of A Clockwork Orange became a cult classic and was used by Stanley Kubrick for his 1971 film adaptation.

A Clockwork Orange is ranked 65th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. It is also listed in TIME’s “100 Best Novels” (since 1923).

Details

• Title A Clockwork Orange
• Author Anthony Burgess; Stanley Edgar Hyman
• Binding Hardcover
• Pages 185
• Volumes 1
• Language ENG
• Publisher Buccaneer Books
• Date January 29, 2005
• ISBN 9781568495118 / 1568495110
• Weight 0.91 lbs (0.41 kg)
• Dimensions 8.78 x 5.8 x 0.69 in (22.30 x 14.73 x 1.75 cm)
• Reading level 1310
• Library of Congress subjects Science fiction, Satire
• Dewey Decimal Code FIC