Doing It

The three main characters, testosterone enriched sixth-formers, are involved with Jackie (Dino’s girl), who never quite goes the whole way, plump Debbie (Jon’s girl) whom he definitely yearns for but doesn’t want to be seen with in public, and then there’s Miss Young, the Drama teacher, who is giving very special lessons behind the scenery to Ben.

The condom on the cover should attract an audience, who will find a cast of male characters and their numerous girlfriends, all of whom seem to be in pursuit of physical and sexual pleasure with only a rather thin veneer of genuine emotional involvement or moral reflection. What’s more, they hardly ever seem to have any ordinary activity outside of the grope and thrust of lust.

Burgess describes it as a ‘knobby book for boys’ and indeed the language is uncompromisingly contemporary and the action realistically described. It’s a book that’ll get grubby in no time and teachers ought to be aware of its contents before setting it loose on a panting public.