L'orange mécanique

What an "out of the regular" experience this book was. Especially the blend of genres. It was like a new kind if cocktail that created an abstract taste you had never had before.

So here is my bit of review. I work with children that turn into violent teenagers and that feel very much like Alex. There were two outstanding truths I could find this book was build on. A) violence always leads to more violence. We have come a far way to create the "most" peaceful society in history ever however and that is b) teenagers will probably always be seen as more "brutal" or "shocking" by older generations, because they divert from the "regular" standard, but most of them will grow up to be okay again. Not always, not everyone but many.

When I read of Alex and his gang, I was reminded of my muslim and russian boys who always tell me of their gang fights, how they feel awesome and powerful, how they view guns and knifes and what kind of allure those things have. I was also reminded of neonazi groups and soccer hooligans. We always ask us, how can it be that these violent cells come to be. I don't think clockwork orange doesn't have an answer to this, however it shows us that it's always been apart if society, a conflict between the old and the young and the society has to try and find answers for it. For me as a professional these are important questions.

The weird blend of seriousness and comedy worked well here. Whenever it got brutal it also got comedic. Sexual abuse? Let's add some cat induced slapstick comedy to brighten the mood. For me, it worked. I am not getting out of this book traumatized. It helped reduce the drama, abstract the story so much that you could focus on the underlying questions while also having a good time. I saw the abuse and the violence, but in the way it was written, I did not need to get overly emotional invested about it. Because, that's what Burgess also wanted to give to the reader "do not always dramatize youth violence". Handle it witch care and seriousness, but it is not necessary to talk about the doom to the world. I really appreciated it.

I also felt that the point was to take care to continue working on a peaceful society. If the outer sourroundings do not use violence like the "milicents" then the teenagers won't pick it up. If the "care worker" would have honestly been there for Alex and not threaten him and have a close connection with him, maybe it would have made a difference. If the parents would have actually cared, and looked after Alex after he became involved with violence the first time, maybe that too would have made a difference. (Here is the small side insert: poverty is shitty, stop the poverty, give children all equal life chances and education. Thank you.)

Yes, yadda, the language. The language is annoying, but it also dims the violence. I tried the first 30 pages to get it on my own. And gave up, because I did not get what was happening. Then I got a wikipedia entry with the translations and looked up every word, and in another 30 pages, I learned the language and could read the book without interruption. Annoying, sure, but also worthy if you take the time, and want to read that book.

I took a lot out of this. I even want to watch the movie now. So good stuff.