So good I want to year into something by Anthony again soon. Wicked funny.

Nice story. Easy to read, and a great picture of England in the 60s (that I remember so well...!).

4,5
Modern klasikler serimi tamamladığımda sıra atlamadan en baştan başladım okumaya. Ara ara çoook sıkıldıklarım da denk geldi böyle yakın zamanda pek okumayacağım kitalarda.
Sıra bu kitaba geldiğinde biraz gerdi beni otomatik portakal’dan dolayı. AMA okumaya bi başladım ve bırakamadım. Bi beklentim olmayan kitaplardan böyle hoşlanınca çok seviniyorum ahjshjekh

Zavallı howard

Sanki 200 sayfa değil de çok daha uzunmuş gibi geldi. Sade, akıcı bir kitap denilebilir aslında. Ama bilemiyorum sıradan, tahmin edilebilir geldi; merak etmeyerek okudum. 61 yılında yazılmış bir kitaba haksızlık ediyorum belki de. Az da olsa etkilenmiş olsam daha yüksek verebilirdim, bu haliyle ancak ortalama bulabildim. Yine de okunabilir.

This is my first burgess , I dodged A Clockwork Orange because I've seen the film so many times. I like the idea of the book and it stated out well even if I wasn't floored, I was enjoying it, but it took a nose dive into cramming everything in the last bit of the story and it didn't feel earnt or like it fitted.

4,5/5

An engrossing piece of satire that holds a mirror up to the capitalist-driven society of the 1960s. It's a unique, darkly humorous, and thought-provoking read that has earned a well-deserved five-star rating from me.

The novel revolves around the lives of Janet and Howard Shirley. When Howard, a car salesman with a near-photographic memory, uses his extraordinary recall to win a fortune on a TV quiz show, their lives take a turn towards the hedonistic. The exploration of their subsequent lifestyle, marked by materialism and a lack of emotional depth, serves as a brilliant critique of a consumerist society.

Burgess, writing under the pseudonym Joseph Kell, cleverly employs a first-person narrative from Janet's perspective. Her naive and plain-spoken voice, coupled with her lack of ambition and shallow understanding of the world, provides a stark contrast to Howard's ruthlessness and cunning. This contrast serves to highlight the moral and societal decay that Burgess seeks to critique.

The author's satirical approach to the narrative is both entertaining and illuminating. He uses the Shirleys' journey to depict the pitfalls of a life governed by material wealth and societal approval. The novel is filled with dark humor and irony, and its climax, which I won't spoil here, is both shocking and deeply poignant.

Burgess's sharp critique of consumer culture and his exploration of themes like materialism, greed, and moral decay are as relevant today as they were when the book was first published. "One Hand Clapping" is a masterful satire that uses its seemingly ordinary characters to provide insightful commentary on the society we live in.

In conclusion, "One Hand Clapping" is a powerful critique of capitalist culture, wrapped in a narrative that's as entertaining as it is insightful. With its compelling characters, sharp wit, and thought-provoking themes, it offers a reading experience that's both enjoyable and enlightening. Hence, my five-star rating.

This novel is a social satire that warns against the effects of complacency and too much television. Janet and Howard are lower-middle-class residents of Bradcaster who have fallen into a familial marital routine of working, eating, and watching television. Janet is beautiful, but her education leaves a lot to be desired. Howard possesses the uncommon gift of a photographic memory which he uses to win a large sum of cash on a game show. He specialises in books and literature. Howard’s acquisition of wealth serves as a catalyst that allows the couple to enjoy the finer things in life. However, all is not well within Howard’s mind as he proves that money does not change the commonplace ignorance of everyday life.

This book displays Burgess’ opposition against the emphasis placed on wealth instead of knowledge. There is a definite anger directed towards the game-show industry which values money and entertainment over the subject matter that they base their questions on. Howard often feels disappointed that his actions merely provide entertainment instead of enlightenment. Janet, on the other hand, represents the common consumer who is overly influenced by television and swayed by material things. She even views her relationship with Howard as a superficial thing to be compared with couples on television. Janet has experienced more through her television than through the sum of her life experience. As Howard realises the superficial nature of the twentieth century, his mind becomes clouded with a dark endgame that will illuminate the disgust that he feels towards society.

Although this is a short book it is incredibly well-written and embodies the author’s personal disgust at the rise of the commercial age. “One Hand Clapping” is just as dark as Burgess’ later work “A Clockwork Orange” and equally insightful. Fans will not be disappointed.

Right before launching into a few classic works of doomsaying about the downfall of society, Burgess writes a comic book gently poking fun at those who do so. It's good to have a reminder not to take such things too seriously.

Eğlenceli bir kitap. Bir dil uzmanı olan Burgess sade cümleler ve yalın bir anlatım kullanmış, altını çizeyim dediğim cümle sayısı çok azdı. Aforizmalardansa sıradan cümlelerle hikaye anlatanlardan daha çok keyif alıyorum. Çok kısa sürede okunabilecek bir kitap. Okurken aklıma Orwell'in Boğulmamak İçin isimli kitabı geldi. İki kitapta da taşradaki İngiliz toplumuna ilişkin tasvir ve yorumlar olduğu, toplumsal değişime değindiği için belki. Burgess'in Orwell'a cevaben yazdığı "1985" isimli bir kitabı da var. Belki de bu yüzden.

Biraz arka planda kalan bir kadının ağzından bir bilgi yarışmasında önemli miktarda ikramiye kazanan eşiyle olan hikayesini anlatıyor. Bu kadın (Janet) olabildiğince basmakalıp bir şekilde çizilmiş, güzel, biraz da okuduğu lisedeki anlayış nedeniyle cahil kalmış (Küba'nın Afrika'da olduğunu zannediyor ve Castro'nun Afrika'daki karışıklıktan sorumlu olduğunu düşünüyor mesela), 19 yaşında evlenmiş, markette çalışan, eşi ne diyorsa doğru kabul eden itiraz etmeyen taşralı bir kadın. Eşi (Howard) biraz daha ilginç bir karakter, fotoğrafik hafızaya sahip, dürüstlükten taviz vermeyen bir otomobil satıcısı. Olayların nasıl geliştiğini spoiler vermeden anlatmak benim için çok zor. Ama hem tahmin ettiğim hem de tahmin etmediğim olaylara yer verilmiş hikayede.

Bu arada, kitaba ismini veren Zen deyişine (Birbirine çarpan iki elin sesini biliriz, Ya çarpan tek bir elin sesi nedir?) hikayede değinilmiş. Bu deyiş Salinger'in Dokuz Öykü kitabın başlangıcında da yer alıyor. Kitaptaki karakterlerden birinin soyadı da Glass olunca Burgess Salinger'e bir gönderme mi yapıyor diye düşündüm.

Kitap sürükleyici ilerliyor. Klişe olaylara yer vermemiş. Bir sonraki adımı tahmin etmek zor

I loved the voice of Janet, who narrates this book. Several times she made me laugh out loud.

This book has short chapters and it is always tempting to read one more. It's a story about a very ordinary couple from "Bradcaster" who win a lot of money through a TV quiz show.

The only reason I haven't given five stars is that I found the ending a bit anti-climatic. Howard's plan was obvious from Chapter 3, and when it finally happened it wasn't as satisfying as I expected. I thought Janet's change of character was a bit too rapid, and I ended the book a bit confused about her current situation. In fact, throughout the book I had trouble understanding Janet's motivations sometimes - her attraction to Red wasn't very convincing, for example.

Despite these complaints, I considered giving five stars because it's such an enjoyable read.