A Clockwork Orange discussion

I have heard of the movie, a clockwork orange but never saw it. I was looking into the book just now and man I dont know if I even want to read the damn thing.

Whats the most disturbing/freaky book u have ever read?

Amber wrote: "Whats the most disturbing/freaky book u have ever read?"

"The Road", "Blood Meridian", pretty much anything by Cormac McCarthy.

"A Clockwork Orange" is not an easy book to like, many find the initial encounter with NADSAT too distracting. I honestly don't think I missed much by watching the movie 1st.

Great Apes by Will Self
Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk
Both very disturbing...

Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk. IMHO, his most disturbing book.

Love A Clockwork Orange. Brilliant book. Read it. Think about it. Then read it again ... & again & again.

I think reading the book before seeing the move added a different dimension to it. Kubrick was definitely a visionary, but my mind created a different (stark & lush & violent & gentle & wonderful & horrifying) world.

I love this book. You've inspired me to reread (again). Thanks!

I'm not sure I’d agree with the inclusion of Great Apes by Will Self. I thought it was more fun than disturbing, but then again i might be somewhat disturbed myself to have had such a reaction.
Lolita and 1984 simply must be included, they both raise some quite disturbing facts about humanity that we might rather not be forced to confront.
Something in the same vein, and definitely the most disturbing for me - although it is also quite enjoyable if you have a somewhat perverse sense of humour, would be Crash by J.G. Ballard. Where Lolita and 1984 will raise unpleasant realities about our species and force us to acknowledge and engage with them, Crash will bombard the reader with such strange combinations of human perversion that you really have to wonder what was going through the authors mind when he wrote it. Ballard stated later in his life that it was probably the deranged mental state he was in following the death of his wife that produced the novel Crash, but this book about car-crash fetishists is certainly worth reading if you don't mind engaging with the dark side of literature. It is often disturbing and wholly bizarre, but i for one think it's great.

Freaky books that I've encountered through the years, disturbing for different reasons:

- Rabbit,Run
- Lolita
- House Of Leaves
- Catch 22
- Sula

Crash actually sounds really good. I think ill check it out. Ive never heard of some these books. Most I have. Im gonna have to write these down. thanks

When Rabbit Howls
Living Dead Girl


These two books are the only ones that kept me up at night, despairing for humanity.

Amber wrote: "Crash actually sounds really good. I think ill check it out. Ive never heard of some these books. Most I have. Im gonna have to write these down. thanks"

I can't recommend it highly enough. It was my first introduction to JG Ballard and he hasn't let me down since. He writes a lot of these 'disturbing' books, Crash just happened to be the most overtly disturbing one i could think of. The flip side of Crash would be Empire of the Sun, which is disturbing in differenct ways. The main difference is that Crash is imaginary and Empire of the Sun isn't.
Empire' is a novelised account of the his childhood experiences during the second world war when he lived in a Japanese concentration camp in China. The extremely intense childhood during a world war was probably what made the man write such strange things in the first place.

I attempted to read Helter Skelter in high school. The book freaked me out so much that I had to literally remove it from the house at about 3:00 am one weekend so that I could go to sleep.

I just finished reading I, Zombie by Hugh Howey, and while it wasn't his best work, it was certainly disturbing.

It's one of the few books I remember making me feel physically ill.

Jennifer wrote: "I attempted to read Helter Skelter in high school. The book freaked me out so much that I had to literally remove it from the house at about 3:00 am one weekend so that I could go to sleep."

OOOH, good one! I slept with the light on the whole month that it took me to read that book. Same with Lethal Marriage: The Unspeakable Crimes Of Paul Bernardo And Karla Homolka. True crime ... too much.

Lots of good suggestions here and I give an "amen" to the Cormac McCarthy stuff. I didn't find Clockwork Orange that disturbing, especially since the anti-hero is so young and acting out in a dystopia. One title I was surprised not to see on this list:

American Psycho

Clockwork Orange is so worth reading. There's something about reading the language, rather than hearing the dialogue (in the film, which is also great), that gets to the core of the brilliance. I read it first as a teenager and am grateful for having had that experience. I would call Clockwork Orange freaky, maybe, but not disturbing.

I will never forget picking up American Psycho when it came out, from a shelf at a college bookstore, just to peruse it. The text I opened to and read--just a few pages--was the most disturbing thing I had ever read to that point in my life. I was upset, repulsed, angered, and sick. I have never read the book, which came out in 1991. Disturbing, yes.

Bevin wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I attempted to read Helter Skelter in high school. The book freaked me out so much that I had to literally remove it from the house at about 3:00 am one weekend so that I could g..."

Bevin, I think that is the same book thatI read on the Bernardo/Homolka killings. If so, I really struggled with the decision to read the book. A co-worker had lent it to me and so I read it. That case was always profoundly disturbing to me. I am still confused as to why they were not prosecuted for the death Tammy Homolka.To this day I am still disgusted with the bungled police investiation. I am also still very disgusged with Ken Murray for not understanding that it was not his job as a lawyer to retrieve and hide evidence for his client.

American Psycho and Crash

Jennifer wrote: "Bevin wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I attempted to read Helter Skelter in high school. The book freaked me out so much that I had to literally remove it from the house at about 3:00 am one weekend so ..."

I will never change my decision to read the Bernardo/Homolka book. I grew up near Toronto; my mother lived near Scarborough in Toronto & when we visited her, there was a period of time we weren't allowed outside after dinner because the Scarborough Rapist was at large. Also, I'm a couple of years younger than Kristen French & Leslie Mahaffy would've been. I guess this case basically cast this dark shadow over my early adolescence & I had to read the book to try to gain some understanding in the situation.

But again, I had to sleep w/ the light on whilst reading it.

Some disturbing / freaky books:

A Boy Called It

Handmaids Tale

Zebra Murders

Lolita

Phantom of the Opera (for some reason it really bugged my brain)

The Collector (freaky) by John Fowles

I would have to say that you shouldn’t give up on Clockwork Orange – it’s a cracking novel. Unfortunately, those that make us think and which comment on past, present or future are rarely easy reads but that makes it all the more fun and gives you a larger sense of achievement when you get through it, get your head round it and form an opinion. Don’t do what I did though and wrestle through the language till you get the hang of it and force yourself to read it fairly fluently, only to discover upon completing it that there is a glossary in the back! D’oh!!!

Mine was probably mostly Lolita because I was reading it (in my late teens / early 20s) whilst sharing a room with my then 10 / 11 year old sister and it got me so worked up I had to put it down. On reading that novel I was about ready to murder any person that even so much as looked at her wrong. I think had I not read it with my little sister around I may have read it as it was meant and seen the complexity of the character and plot; but her presence just made me aware of the fundamentals of the story.

At the start of American Psycho I thought that would be my most disturbing, but the indulgent violence in that book made it almost comic towards the end. Plus it seemed to me it was all in his head.

I do love a good dystopian novel. I think possibly with all this in the press recently about the suffering of women in the likes of Iraq and Afghanistan and that poor little 14 year old who was shot by the Taliban for promoting education for girls, I would have to say Handmaid's Tale... it seems that when I read it when I was younger I felt it a complete fantasy and couldn't see how a civilised forward thinking democratic country could go from equality to that, but when you see these educated female doctors and lawyers, etc, who are now having to stay home and can only leave the house covered and with a chaperone, I am not so sure. Frightening how quickly fascism can take hold and how values you treasure can be stripped away so quickly.

I'd say anything by Chuck Palahniuk. Haunted, in particular. And even the cover of the book glows in the dark. I read the first two pages of Clockwork Orange once and gave up. It seemed like drivel. I'll try it again though.

this was the most disturbing shit I ever layed my hands on. Couldn't read it right.

This one was disturbing but still a good read. This one too:

Zoran,

I have heard of the Child Called It and because of what I heard I won't even attempt to read it. I don't think that I could possibly stomach it.

The Girl Who Was too Fond of Matches sounds good. I have added it to my to read list.

Jennifer,
so, would you recommend me to try reading this:

I tried to read it in high school but couldn't finish it. The fact that it really happened really disturbed me. However, since then I have been able to stomach true crime books, including books on Ted Bundy. If you can stomach true crime, it may be an interesting read.

If you like true crime books read The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer. I didn't find it particularly disturbing but it is an extremely engaging and interesting account of Gary Gilmores crimes. The disturbing central fact is that he demanded to be executed by his captors who had no intention of doing so.

Jennifer wrote: "I tried to read it in high school but couldn't finish it. The fact that it really happened really disturbed me. However, since then I have been able to stomach true crime books, including books on..."

And what about fiction? Can you find some fiction nearly as disturbing?

The Handmaids Tale was disturbing. In some of Amy Tan's novels there are disturbing things about the way women in China were treated by their fathers and husbands.

I will not read a sensationalistic story like A Child Called It and many true crime books would just upset me too much.....not good for someone who is already a misanthrope.

Zoran,

I guess I can find fiction nearly as disturbing. For example, in my final year of high school, our English teacher required us to pick something like six books out of ten to read for our independent study. One of those books was A Clockwork Orange, but I did find that book disturbing and moved onto another book pretty quickly.

However, I felt the need to physically remove Helter Skelter from my home in order that I may sleep.

Jennifer wrote: "Zoran,

I guess I can find fiction nearly as disturbing. For example, in my final year of high school, our English teacher required us to pick something like six books out of ten to read for our in..."

So, besides Clockwork Orange, what would be your most disturbing fiction?

Shirley Jackson's The Lotteryfreaked me out.

Jennifer wrote: "Shirley Jackson's The Lotteryfreaked me out."

Ok, I'll give it a try ;-)

Zoran wrote: " this was the most disturbing shit I ever layed my hands on. Couldn't read it right.

This one was disturbing but still a go..."

I picked up The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches at the library today. Pure fluke: I'd remembered reading the title on this thread & whilst wandering the shelves today noticed it sitting there. I've already been pulled in, so thanks for the recommendation!

No problem, I hope you'll like it ;-)

I downloaded Shirley Jackson's The Lottery, so this thread was useful to me, too :-)

The Painted Bird, about a boy wandering around Nazi controlled Eastern Europe, is pretty distrubing.

Speaking of Nazi, I've heard that young neonazis love reading, and their favorite genre is YA.

Young Adolf


:-p

House of Leaves
The whole Hannibal Lecter Series. (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal)
The Tell-Tale Heart
The Masque of Red Death
Clockwork Orange <- you guys know this is satire right?
And Then There Were None
An Occurence At Owl Creek Bridge

Taylor wrote: "And Then There Were None"


For those who are interested in this book, Gretchen McNeil just wrote a modern day version of this book. It's called Ten.

Two books that are disturbing to me that haven't already been mentioned are:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
One Second After

Both belong in the vein of "wrong things people can do to each other".

Outer Dark or Blood Meridian---both books by Cormac McCarthy. Stream of consciousness stuff, but far more disturbing by far than Clockwork...

Judge Holden is one of the greatest villains in literature. But if you have a difficult time reading Clockwork, sadly, you won't enjoy Blood Meridian, or any other McCarthy stuff. He's just not for everybody, but I can understand why some people have a hard time with it.

Child of God is pretty damn creepy, too. Much easier to read than the other two.

Long ago In cold blood kept me up nights

Anna-Kathrin wrote: "Ok, so, disturbing and freaky books:

- A Clockwork Orange, of course
- Night by Elie Wiesel (It's not freaky, but it's really disturbing. Wiesel is a holocaust survivor.)
- Lolita by Nabokov
- Gro..."

you have the best list.

WEE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. enough said. see the movie too. get the chills.

Matthew wrote: "WEE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. enough said. see the movie too. get the chills."

I bought the DVD because I didn't realize it was based on a book. Generally, as a rule I don't watch movies based on books until I first read the book. This time I watched the movie and it creeped me out so much and left me with such a disturbed feeling that I don't think that I can bring myself to read the book.

A clockwork orange
The crucible
Night
Romeo and Juliet (they fall in love, have sex, and die in 3 days!)

A Clockwork Orange has always creeped me out. I read it when I was too young to really understand the story but I remember the whole book disgusted me. I couldn't even finish the movie. Maybe I should re-read it so I can actually understand what's going on this time.

Also Lolita made me feel dirty and extremely uncomfortable.

Jennifer wrote: "I bought the DVD because I didn't realize it was based on a book. Generally, as a rule I don't watch ..."

you did the same thing i did. i'm also not reading the book now. LOL

Just finished reading Cormac McCartheys novel The Road. Both disturbing and freaky but also quite touching and very good. You'd be a fool not to try it.

Sam wrote: "Just finished reading Cormac McCartheys novel The Road. Both disturbing and freaky but also quite touching and very good. You'd be a fool not to try it."

Loved this book. Stayed up all night reading it. Subtly horrifying, profoundly beautiful. Good call Sam!!!

Disturbing/cant put it down cause its darkly addictive, The winners are clear.. Black list books

The Wasp Factory By Iain Banks... This book is the most mind bending and twisted compilation of words Ive read. But maintains a plot, and serves a point. Its a must read. Its so brutal. Not gore brutal...mind brutal.

haunted By good ol Chuck Palhuinik. I saw it was already written. But if you read this book and finished it. You should give wasp factory a try...Count how many times your sigh and say Holy S*&^.
Wasp Factory is one of the most Brutal things written. It is black listed. makes Chucks books look like some Grisham nonsense. And I love Palhuniks books dont get me wrong. But you asked.. Wasp Factory. Read it if you got the sand

Toni wrote: "You guys have some great suggestions! If I may add one more - Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim. If you're familiar with the movie, then I definitely don't need to tell you how disturbing the subject m..."

The Wasp Factory...By Iain banks...makes all these other awesome gems suggested, look like seuss. Read it. Please. I cant be the only one that has. It will stretch your literature limits.