A Clockwork Orange vs Plays: Which Should You Read?
A Clockwork Orange
“'WHAT'S it going to be then, eh?'”
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A Clockwork Orange is a dystopian satirical black comedy novel by English writer Anthony Burgess, published in 1962. It is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage…
Plays
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The text of the present volume was passed for press by Arnold Glover and some progress had been made in his lifetime in the collection of the material given in the Appendix. Mrs. Glover’s help has again been most…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- A Clockwork Orange is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 8 for Plays.
- A Clockwork Orange has the widest readership — 789904 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| A Clockwork Orange | Plays | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (789904) | 4.0 (1) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1361) | — |
| Google Books | 4.5 (22) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (156) | — |
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Reception
| A Clockwork Orange | Plays | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 789904 | 1 |
| Editions | 136 | 46 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 843706 | 39 |
| Reading it now | — | 46 |
| Written reviews | 27419 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 44714 | 3206 |
| Pages | 219 | 475 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Clockwork Orange or Plays?
A Clockwork Orange has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Clockwork Orange 4.0/5, Plays 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Clockwork Orange or Plays?
A Clockwork Orange is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: A Clockwork Orange (219 pages, ≈ 4 h 03 m); Plays (475 pages, ≈ 8 h 48 m).
Which is harder to read: A Clockwork Orange or Plays?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Clockwork Orange: Moderate; Plays: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
A Clockwork Orange: 5 film adaptations; Plays: no film adaptation on record.