A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

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The title is taken from an old Cockney expression, "as queer as a clockwork orange" and alludes to the prevention of the main character's exercise of his free will through the use of a classical conditioning technique. With this technique, the subject’s emotional responses to violence are systematically paired with a negative stimulation in the form of nausea caused by an emetic medicine administered just before the presentation of films depicting "ultra-violent" situations. Written from the perspective of a seemingly biased and unapologetic protagonist, the novel also contains an experiment in language: Burgess creates a new speech that is the teenage slang of the not-too-distant future.

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The 138th greatest fiction book of all time

This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 8th on The Ideal Library (Book)
  2. - 21st on 50 Books to Read Before You Die (Complex)
  3. - 49th on Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century (themodernnovel.com)
  4. - 49th on Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels (Radcliffe Publishing Course)
  5. - 65th on The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels (Modern Library)
  6. - 68th on The 100 Greatest British Novels (BBC)
  7. - 79th on 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction (Larry McCaffery)
  8. - 100 Most Influential Books of the Century (Boston Public Library)
  9. - Select 100 (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee)
  10. - Donald Barthelme’s Reading List (Believer Mag)
  11. - The Best Classics (The Times)
  12. - TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels (TIME Magazine)

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