Penguin Essentials: A Clockwork Orange

Fifteen-year-old Alex and his "droogs" spend their nights in a diabolical orgy of robbery, violence, and "ultraviolence."

In Anthony Burgess’s terrifyingly prophetic nightmare, the near-future is a playground for teenage delinquency. After a series of brutal crimes, Alex is eventually captured and jailed. To secure his release, he agrees to undergo a controversial State-sponsored reform known as the "Ludovico Technique"—a form of psychological conditioning designed to make him physically incapable of violence.

But at what cost? A Clockwork Orange is a disturbing and profound exploration of the nature of evil and the importance of free will. Burgess famously created Nadsat, a unique teenage slang that immerses the reader in Alex's distorted world, forcing us to question whether a man who is forced to be good is, in fact, still a man. This Penguin Essentials edition highlights the enduring power of a novel that remains a shocking indictment of both societal decay and state tyranny.