Lunchtime read: A Clockwork Orange

No doubt this could have been finished off in one sitting but having bought a new bike at the weekend I needed my lunch hour to work out how to fold it away and get it in the bag that came with it. On the face of it sounds simple but it didn’t work well on the way in so needs a bit of practice before heading home. As a result theses are the thoughts from the twenty or so pages after the start of part three around the page 100 mark.

Having been released from prison a series of rather unfortunate coincidences means that Alex and his programming not to revert to violence are tested to the limit.

Firstly he discovers that his parents have taken in a lodger, the police have taken and sold all of his property and his old home is eerily clean and looks taken care of.. The reason why the place is not smashed up by young hooligans becomes clear after Alex is rescued by the police after being beaten up in the library.

The incident in the library is sparked because Alex is recognised by the first victim in the story and the old man who had his books torn, clothes and money stolen is joined by his aged friends who deliver a gentle but disturbing kicking to young Alex.

But things take an even more surreal turn when the police turn up to help him with Dim and Billy there leader of the gang they were in mortal combat with having joined the police. They are only too happy to hand out a real kicking to Alex and leave him in the country miles from the city.

The only option is to crawl to a friendly home and he manages to stumble on the very place his gang went to before where they raped the wife and beat up the husband. The wife has gone, dying of the shame and injuries of that night and the husband cannot recognise Alex. He shows kindness and love to the young man who he believes backs up his theory that the government is trying to turn everyone into clockwork oranges.

Final thoughts tomorrow..