For my first independent reading book, I read Anthony Burgess's science fiction epic, A Clockwork Orange.  For those that aren't familiar with the novel or the brilliant film adaptation directed by Stanley Kubrick, the narrative follows Alex DeLarge, a teenage hoodlum in a dystopian British society.  Alex is an amazing character, as he completely and genuinely lacks all remorse.  The story told from his perspective is extremely disturbing but gripping at the same time.  As it’s told in the first person, Burgess writes using all the slang that a teenager in a dystopian future would, which equates to an entirely new language in sections.  Thus deciphering the book is half the battle in reading it.  This writing style really makes the reader focus on contextual cues and syntax, making it a much more thought-provoking read than it otherwise would be.  That being said, I had seen the film before reading the novel, so I was already familiar with much of the language going into the text.  Looking back, I do regret this, as I could read the book easily when it was intended to be a much more in-depth experience.  It was, however, still a great read.  One part that especially stood out to me, and in a negative way, unfortunately, was the final chapter.  Originally, I had heard that the final chapter, in which Alex grows up and learns the error of his ways, was required for an American release so that it would have a happy ending.  However, upon reading the book’s introduction, Burgess states that this chapter was intended and that because the film left it out, he disowned Kubrick’s work.  Personally, I disagree with Burgess on this point.  In my opinion, I believe that the story works much better without the final chapter.  The final chapter seems to destroy the point of the film, which is to me to explore the limits of freedom of will and to demonstrate the general public’s psychological attraction to a protagonist of any type.  To have Alex grow out of his evil ways gives the entire story a different bent which, personally, I don’t think has a place in the novel.  Overall, though, I think the book is fantastic.  It’s a tale about constitutional rights and having a right to your own thoughts and actions.  The government tries to limit Alex’s violent tendencies with a new scientific procedure, and this is the main conflict in the book.  besides the disjointing of the last chapter, the text is brilliant, and the characters and themes fascinating.  I would gladly recommend it to anyone interested in cautionary tales or science fiction of any kind.  However, the film is extremely disturbing in many ways, so I would say that anyone who’s squeamish might want to steer clear of this one.  As a testament to the book’s power, I finished the text several days ago, and am still thinking about it today.  It truly is a lasting book. It has power.  Moving forward, I’d definitely like to read more of Burgess’s work.