This is certainly a confronting book, and I'm not entirely sure that it deserves the rating I have given it, but then these are subjective things, aren't they? On the side of the good is the plot, which I find interesting - the idea of rehabilitation through lack of free will - and the language, which is excellent. Really, what Burgess does with language is the high point of the story. It's original and fresh and clever and I can't praise it enough. Unfortunately it is also in service of the most disgusting character I've come across for quite some time. I loathed him, and I loathed reading about him. Thankfully, our protagonist is meant to come across as repulsive, and this adds some shades to the debate about choice and free will that's going on in the text. But even so - I hate him so much that, despite the language, and despite the skill of the story-telling, I can't rate this any more than three stars. Even "liking it" is pushing it. I admire A Clockwork Orange, I appreciate what Burgess has done, but that nasty brat is so off-putting that I don't ever want to read it again.