30 Day Book Playlist Challenge -- Day 1: Punk
Day 1: Name a favorite book with a rebellious character or a character that does something against the status quo (Punk).
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I had a really hard time with this one at first, which is an auspicious start, don't you think? I guess I just don't read that many books about rebels? Either that or my brain was broken last night while I was looking through my shelves for books that would qualify for this prompt. I saw this morning that The Fish Place had done Star Wars, and I was like DUH, but it was too late and also I don't want to be a copycat.
So I'm going with A Clockwork Orange and V for Vendetta.
A Clockwork Orange was a challenge for me the first time I read it, but I re-read it a couple of years ago for my Master's exams and absolutely loved it. I love the way Burgess plays with language, and I love what he has to say about free will and growing up. In the world of the novel, violence and rebellion are common place, meant as a sort of reaction against a society that wants to control and tame every aspect of its citizens. You have to read the original version, though. The version that was first published in America cut the entire last chapter out and it completely changes the meaning of the story.
V for Vendetta was my first Alan Moore graphic novel, and it's still my favorite. The whole book is about rebellion, again from a controlling society (this one with murderous intentions). V himself is so deliciously and consciously dramatic, and the way he pulls Evie into his rebellious world, turning her from a scared and helpless victim, always gets to me.
(Thanks to Rose for putting this together!)