A Clockwork Orange (Penguin Modern Classics) - Softcover

Burgess, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141182601 ISBN 13: 9780141182605

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 2000

Synopsis

Anthony Burgess's nightmare vision of a society overrun by nihilistic violence and governed by a menacing totalitarian state, A Clockwork Orange includes an introduction by Blake Morrison in Penguin Modern Classics.

Fifteen-year-old Alex doesn't just like ultra-violence - he also enjoys rape, drugs and Beethoven's ninth. He and his gang of droogs rampage through a dystopian future, hunting for terrible thrills. But when Alex finds himself at the mercy of the state and subject to the ministrations of Dr Brodsky, and the mind-altering treatment of the Ludovico Technique, he discovers that fun is no longer the order of the day. The basis for Stanley Kubrick's notorious 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange is both a virtuoso performance from an electrifying prose stylist and a serious exploration of the morality of free will.

In his introduction, Blake Morrison situates A Clockwork Orange within the context of Anthony Burgess's many other works, explores the author's unhappiness with the Stanley Kubrick film version, analyses the composition of the Nadsat argot spoken by Alex and his droogs, and examines the influences on Burgess's unique, eternally original style.

Anthony Burgess (1917-93) was born in Manchester in 1917. From 1954 to 1960 he was stationed in Malaysia as an education officer - during this time he started writing The Malayan Trilogy. Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour in 1959, Burgess became a full-time writer and went on to write a book a year up until his death in 1993. His many works include: The Complete Enderby, Tremor of Intent, The Kingdom of the Wicked and A Clockwork Orange.

If you enjoyed A Clockwork Orange, you might like Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.

'I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language ... a very funny book'
William S. Burroughs

About this title

Review:

A gruesomely witty cautionary tale (Time)

Every generation should discover this book (Time Out)

Not only about man's violent nature and his capacity to choose between good and evil. It is about the excitements and intoxicating effects of language (Daily Telegraph)

I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language...a very funny book (William S. Burroughs)

One of the cleverest and most original writers of his generation (The Times)

Book Description:

A new critical edition to celebrate the 50th anniversary of A Clockwork Orange - one of the most influential books of the twentieth century

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0141182601
• ISBN 13: 9780141182605
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176