A Clockwork Orange

I made it through the salvo of tests i had lined up. it was pretty intense. i did pretty well though. i got a 94, 88, 80 (econ. i'm pretty proud of that score, actually), 86, 100 (it was more of a quiz) and i dont know the grade on the spanish test i took today, but i was feeling i aced it pretty good.

I've always meant to kinda write down what i thought of a book after reading it... during winter break i read A Clockwork Orange. i thought it wasn't bad. maybe a bit rough, with the content it has and all, but that was just the nature of the book. anyways, its 21 chapters, but when the american editors saw it, they cut off the last chapter. reading it though, i really agree with the american editor. what happens in the 21st chapter is that the delinquent, after having beaten, robbed and raped, gone to prison and than returns to doing it, suddenly changes. the change though, is very contrived i think. in my opinion, it's an atheistic approach to morality, which is in reality something of an oxymoron, and it shows. without a strong reason to turn moral, it just doesn't make sense why he does it. it seems like he has almost grown bored of the evil life he had lived before and wants to try the next thing, even though the author sells it like it's the maturing and natural changing that a person can go through. if you leave that 20th chapter out though, the ending grabs you and it's haunting.

also, the book is interesting because the guy creates a whole lexicon of slang for it. like horrorshow for cool, devotchka for girl, and i don't remember the rest, but it makes the read interesting.

just as a side note, i think some of my favorite books have been the phantom tollbooth (first long book i read, i think. it was in 4th grade or something), 1984, cat's cradle, Brave new world, earth abides... there's a lot more that i enjoyed, i've read a lot, but that's what comes to mind. haha. i remember reading a john grisham novel and being soooo disappointed realizing that was all the more popular adult literature was. depressing.