A Clockwork Orange

By: Anthony Burgess

Narrated by: Tom Hollander

Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

A vicious 15-year-old "droog" is the central character of this 1963 classic. In Anthony Burgess' nightmare vision of the future, where the 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, as well as Burgess' introduction, "A Clockwork Orange Resucked".

©1962, 1986 The Estate of Anthony Burgess (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"I do not know of any other writer who has done as much with language as Mr. Burgess has done here - the fact that this is also a very funny book may pass unnoticed." (William S. Burroughs)

This Wee Book of Ultra Violence is NOT wrong.

Clockwork Orange isn't the easiest book to get through, especially if you're an American navigating the British colloquialisms throughout the book. Theres also some pretty graphic and intense chapters that, while necessary to the story, are quite graphic. That said, there are plenty of incredible morals and layers to the book: Violence is part of mankind's nature and to remove it from our palettes, however civilized your goal may be, is akin to cutting away part of our humanity. The strong Anti-government sentiment and message that you and I are all pawns in a game to be played by politicians, creating conditions/parameters for violence and crime and then creating hardline programs for their re-election campaigns. It's all just as relevant today, maybe even MORE relevant.

a crazy ride.

This is quite a crazy story to have listen too but a very good one none the less. If you are new to a clockwork orange than a fair warning about the launage they speak, in this story along with English a second slang language is used called Nadsat. Nadsat can be a little hard at first to get used to but you pick it up kinda quick. if you do have issues you can find a nadsat dictionary online, the movie does follow the book quite well if you have seen it and are a fan. over all this is definitely worth a listen.

Great!

I really enjoyed listening to this novel. It captivating and interesting. Gets you thinking. true classic LOVE IT

I really enjoyed this required reading.

Would you listen to A Clockwork Orange again? Why?

Absolutely. The narrator was fantastic and the story was fast-paced and relentless. I loved the use of Russian words (but I speak Russian so it was more fun for me than I imagine it would be for most others) and the final chapter.

What other book might you compare A Clockwork Orange to and why?

I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this before. It was required for a class and far outside my comfort zone.

What about Tom Hollander’s performance did you like?

I loved his accent and his (in places) monotone style. It was ironic.

If you could rename A Clockwork Orange, what would you call it?

"Might Just Change Your Perspective on Teenage Boys"

Any additional comments?

It was cool. I learned quite a bit from this book.

Finally I understand this book!

Any additional comments?

I've never been able to really enter into A Clockwork Orange. Until I listened to it! Then it came alive, and the progress of the plot made sense. The accents and the flow of the slang made so much sense in an audio format. The narration is great. This is the British version of the story--21 chapters instead of the American 20 chapter version. The preface is worth listening to also, though you may want to skip it and come back to it after you've listened to the story.

Great story, very good narrator

What made the experience of listening to A Clockwork Orange the most enjoyable?

The narrator was the best narrator I’ve hear while listing to books. Truly believed that he was the voice of the main character.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alex

What does Tom Hollander bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He had the correct accent and played the role very well

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, keeps you interested the entire time

Any additional comments?

better than the movie

Good narration, but story didn't catch my interest

Where does A Clockwork Orange rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The narration for A Clockwork Orange was very good, and it was helpful to hear the book's strange terminology come to life. However, the story was not one that was particularly gripping for me.

Dropping with style

This is a very captivating book with a voice all of its own. It’s nice to read something utterly unique. The last chapter wasn’t originally published in America and I can kind of see why. The story was a little bit stronger, leaving it out. But it was cool getting to hear the complete unabridged version to decide for myself.

Fantastic narration of a great story

This short book really comes alive with the help of the narrator. I benefit by having seen the movie when it came out. I like the inclusion of the full ending (vs the American/movie) abridgment.

A Classic Brought to life!!!

Listening to the audio book of this brings Alex and his droogs to life and adds a bit more of a flair to Alex as a character then the movie. The movie makes you have some sympathy for the young man but the book along with Tom Hollander’s narration makes Alex into a real monster and that he is someone who should not be messed with.