Last month I reread Anthony Burgess's most famous novel, A Clockwork Orange. In it I found new insights into Burgess's creative thought, encouraging me to read more of his oeuvre. I followed up on that idea with The Wanting Seed, which he wrote immediately following Clockwork. This dystopian novel demonstrates one of his persistent themes, the conflict between 'Augustinian' authoritarianism and 'neo-Pelagian' liberalism. The novel is set in a future similar to A Clockwork Orange, where Burgess projects an England in which Christianity, fertility, and heterosexuality will have been outlawed. His heroine, Beatrice-Joanna, is a dissident earth-mother who runs away to Wales to give birth in the home of her brother-in-law. Her husband, Tristram, is a history teacher who, in an early scene in the novel, explains the history and meaning of pelphase (Pelagianism) and gusphase (Augustinianism), while his brother heads the Ministry of Infertility. The brothers' relationship leads Tristram to think, “If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.”  Using an almost over-the-top comic style Burgess comments on themes including: the tyranny of the state, homosexuality, perpetual war, spontaneous orgies, the persistence of religious feeling, and cannibalism. After his escape from prison Tristram hitches a ride from a sort of local militia-man who comments:  "There doesn't seem to be a government at the moment, but we're trying to improvise some kind of regional law and order. . . We can't have all this, indiscriminate cannibalism and the drains out of order.  We've got our wives and children to think of." (pp 171-2)  Although the setting of the novel demonstrates the worst aspects of pelagian liberalism and addresses many societal issues, the primary subject is overpopulation and its relation to culture.

The novel is inventive with a comic seriousness that is humorous with periodic moments of unease; the line between the comic and the serious is sometimes blurred. The author's signature fecundity of ideas, his love of quotations and literary allusions, and his brilliant use of language carries the reader through the rough spots. However, it is not hard to understand why it was "considered too daring" by potential backers of Carlo Ponti's proposed film version. My admiration for Burgess as a novelist of ideas grows with each of his novels. This comically heretical entry, combines with its predecessor to provide a veritable one-two punch of dystopian delight.

An intriguing novel but when it came to part five I lost interest.

After seeing and reading A Clockwork Orange over 40 years ago, I burned through, and loved, every one of Anthony Burgess's novels that I could get my hands on. His use of satire on timely topical themes really connected. Civil Violence. The Cold War. Overpopulation. Government as Big Brother.

I devoured this novel then, and grabbed it at B&N when I spied it by chance last week.

In the rear view mirror, this novel truly does stand the test of time, largely because the central theme of governmental control and hypocritical politicians will always be fair game. Only the names change.

Will true love prevail? One hopes that the central characters' victory over The Man is sustained.

I have to say the original "dystopia" sounded totally Utopian to me. In the world, homosexuality was encouraged, breeding was discouraged, race was something that was ignored and everyone had enough to eat, there was no war, no military, no religion, there was a liberal government that seemed half way between communism and anarchy. Of course the homophobic main characters didn't get a lot of sympathy from me, but I loved the setting. Of course things didn't stay that way as society was changing, the state became totalitarian, filled with secret police and torture, which led to LOTS of cannibalism, paganism, sex, and the creation of an army. The characters in the book were a little underwhelming. Though I did like the fact that the main character was opposed to all the different governments. But really this book was about the setting, different reactions to a chronically overpopulated planet. It was disturbing and great. I shall definitely read more Burgess.

Добрите анти-утопии си приличат по това, че твърде много приличат на настоящата реалност. В този смисъл да четеш тази книга през 2022 си е зловещо - сред пандемия, екологична катастрофа и на прага на потенциална война.
Светът в 'Непокорното семе' е изправен пред проблема с изчерпаните ресурси, които не могат да поддържат живота на увеличаващото се население на земята. Затова не-раждането на деца се насърчава, а многодетните родители са преследвани като престъпници. Няма бог, няма свобода на словото. Затова пък в обществото цари ред и относително доволство.
В един момент обаче, махалото се залюлява в обратната посока, настъпва хаос и цялата подредба рухва.
Дали е по-нехуманно да ограничаваш свободата на хората или да ги оставиш да вярват, че имат избор, докато всъщност ловко ги манипулираш чрез страх и умело режисирана пропаганда? Решението на продоволствения проблем и в двата случая е жестоко, а отделният индивид е ценен дотолкова, доколкото може да допринесе за засищането на глада като биологична маса.
Наистина силна книга, макар че героите ми се сториха недоразвити и едноизмерни. Но всъщност - прагматичните решения не позволяват да се захласваме по романтични концепции като 'дълбока и сложна душевност'.

Full of racism, sexism, and homophobia. I got the feeling that they were the author's real views, not just the characters'.

Reading this back in the early 60s the whole thing I'd imagine would have seemed completely laughable, wholly fictitious and highly unlikely to ever mirror reality. Like, say, a J. G. Ballard for instance, who was also ahead of his time when it came to warning us of the potential dangers that lie ahead in the near future, Burgess writes an overpopulation satirical comedy that reading in the 21st century becomes terrifyingly realistic. It is still extremely funny in parts—British readers may get more of the humour than others, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't spooked when thinking of China’s draconian one-child policy which came into effect 18 years after he wrote this, along with food and energy shortages, and governments telling us what we can and can't do more than what they should be. At its centre is scholar and teacher Tristram Foxe, his wife Beatrice-Joanna—they recently lost a child, her affair with his brother, and the resulting pregnancy. Marital troubles and illegal babies are the last thing you need when society is literally falling apart right outside the window. Interestingly; but more worryingly, parts of London and other major cities seem to be falling apart, with daily riots and looting that don't even get mainstream media coverage. Like its become the new normal, so why bother. The Wanting Seed will always live in the shadows of A clockwork Orange, which for me is the better book, but I'd say this does probe away more on a deeper level and shouldn't be overlooked.

Љубитељ дистопије воли дистопије и пише такве књиге. Једини начин да укаже на неправилности, а да при томе не оде у моралисање, јесте да са пуно сарказма приступи дистопијском роману. Ипак тај сарказам не скрива, оштар је у говору и самим тим се не приближава топ класи дистопијског романа, а још је даље од високе класе сарказма. Ипак рећи да Пожудно семе нема сјајну идеју и сјајан почетак била би чиста глупост. Прва половина књиге је фантастична, чак можда и мало више од половине, али проблем је крај, за мој укус превише утопијски, кукавички, да не кажем превише романтичан. И не бих имао ништа против утопије или романтике, мада ретко читам такве књиге, да ово није дистопијски роман, са дистопијском темом.
Пожудно семе је књига која има идеју да укаже на проблем пренасељености у свету, а са пренасељеношћу долази и проблем глади. Идеју за књигу Барџис је добио током боравка у Малезији, где вероватно постоји тај проблем. Књига представља парњак са Пакленом поморанџом, издате су истовремено са планом да се читају као наставци. Две стране света, два различита проблема, а Барџис воли да укаже на проблем. Како се он бори са проблемом? Стварањем једног суровог света у коме је брачном пару дозвољена једна трудноћа, било успешна или безуспешна. Особе које се огреше о овај закон губе све бенифиције, посао, стан, заштиту. У овом свету сваки елемент има своју улогу, па и мртви, који се више не сахрањују већ се претварају у фосфатно ђубриво и бивају расути по земљи. Оброци су редуковани на по један малени оброк дневно и све намирнице су претворене у одређене енергетске плочице и гелове, као и сасушене елементе који се кувањем претварају у назови храну. А ко је главни у држави? Ко је тај који има све бенефиције? То су они који се подвргну добровољној стерилизацији и припадници класе Хомо. Министарство које има највећи утицај јесте министарство неплодности.
Строги закони, немогућност да се кроз љубав и храну задовоље минимални прохтеви, доводе до масовне хистерије и побуна, које доводе до природне селекције у којој они млађи, слабији и усамљенији бивају поједени. Канибализам расте, одсуство рата ствара проблем (са ким ратовати и како се то ради кад рат припада историји) и са ким ратује мобилисано људство у моментима када постоји само један град на острву. Подстицање хомосексуалности представља одговор на проблем стерилизације, а проблем недостатка хране и пренасељености решава се ратом, очајничким ратом са самим собом, са својим народом. Да ли се иза сваког човека крије одређена маска, да ли смо се сви претворили у инструмент пожуде и животињске борбе? Дело препуно симболике и алузија на нека претходна дела, не само књижевности (Пуста земља- Т.С. Елиот), већ и музике (Вагнерова обрада мита Тристан и Изолда), ипак и поред добре идеје не износи сав потенцијал на видело. Може се рећи да сву снагу коју Паклена поморанџа има, Пожудно семе губи у одређеном тренутку. Штета.

„Разочарање. Разочарање. РАЗОЧАРАЊЕ! Разочарање отвара перспективу хаоса. Наступа неразумност, наступа паника. Кад нестане разума, улази суровост. Окрутност! Премлаћивања. Тајна полиција. Мучење у бљештаво осветљеним подрумима. Осуда без суда. Кљештима ишчупани нокти. Справе за мучење. Поступак са хладном водом. Копање очију. Стрељачки вод у хладно праскозорје. И све то само због разочарања!“

This book is more homophobic than the bible

mind you - & at once this sounds like the opening for Tin Drum - but i have just finished the book & it's fresh in my mind. there's been a slew of negative reviews ~ right here on Goodreads ~ saying this is dated & non-PC, & apparently not seen for the sci-fi satire it is.

2) II 'Mind You;' as i have a 99 IQ, Asperger's & may not have 'gotten' that it is *indeed* dated & hateful, but welcome to All Things British - even old Ireland isn't spared! but, yes: read: browse, if you enjoy brief, what-if satire, references to Joyce & Rabelais, & witty, cutting bits of dialog tween all-TOO-British types *destined* to live forever in the past -- though, by Burgess' telling, in an ever tidepool cycle of Pelagianism/Augustinian, Whig-Tory 'anglo saxon attitudes.'

in sum: FUN (if you're not a pedantic prude)

Hmmm I adored this book at the start, it was witty, clever, fast paced but then fell completely flat in the second half and lost all momentum:( nonetheless such classic Burgess droll language that I loveee

I read this about a week or two ago, but it's already fading in my memory.

I guess the basic premise is that the world is overpopulated, so you're limited to how many children you can have. But polite, genteel people don't have any.

Which has a knockoff effect of, if you're gay (particularly male and gay) you advance more quickly in your career, and things like that. So there's a real advantage to pretending to be gay. And the culture has adopted gay dress and mannerisms. And that is really the most interesting and appealing part of the book, so it's a shame that this isn't dealt with much and is soon enough overthrown.

Because limiting population goes against the natural order of things and society tries to restabilize itself with heterosexual orgies. And oh yea, cannibalism comes into play too.

And you don't realize, or I didn't realize, right off that this is some sort of absurdist fiction. That I'm not meant to take it too seriously. Which can work, but sort of only if you also care about the characters. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is silly, but.. you can feel for Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect is fun, and some of the other characters are fun and/or interesting. And in this book, just.. no, you can't really like them. Well, I can't like them.

So the book is kind of interesting in an intellectual way, but I wouldn't call it particularly enjoyable on any other front.