The Wanting Seed was conceived in 1961 and was first published in 1962 by Antony Burgess, who at the time had become interested in developing a vision of the possible effects of a demographic disaster after spending several years in the East. In 1988, on an assignment by the German Translator organizations, the novel was translated to German by Steffen Bretzel. Burgess was not particularly optimistic and was well aware that his novel had little or no chance at all of becoming a bestseller. The critics accused the novel of being half-baked and he agreed with them pointing out that the novel required a longer thinking, but reworking it would do no good, though it could be expanded to a length that would fit the subject. ENSPUN is one of the three superpowers the world is divided into according to the plot of the novel. The other two are CHINSPUN and RUSPUN and the demographic control they all exercise is through various methods. The protagonist, Tristram Foxe, who is a history teacher, teaches his students that there are three phases that comprise an eternal historical cycle: Gusphase, Pelphase and Interphase. The world is strictly material, priests perform their duties underground, homosexual relationships are encouraged, conceiving a child is disgraceful, and the problem of overpopulation can only be solved through cannibalism.

Far from being a plausible representation of the future the French Translation version can rather be termed as fantasy. Burgess was a prophet according to Daphnie Alesi, the person who did the French translation. Her desire to represent Burgess as a futuristic author shaped up her choice to translate The Wanting Seed. The Wanting Seed has over the years acquired a cult status and because of the fact that it has not been republished either in the U.K. or in the U.S. it is difficult to get a copy of the original in any bookstore. Being an alternative to the existing pulp fiction literature, the novel definitely points out to the underground nature of Burgess as a writer. He is also an author, who can only be discovered by the ardent reader belonging to the exclusive club of Burgess disciples.

The Arabic Translator workers did another translation of Burgess’ work through Mohammad Karim, who was also inclined to depict the author as “fantastic.” Not accidentally, the cover of The Wanting Seed shows the same face as the cover of A Clockwork Orange, which is quite astonishing. The only person that this can be is Alex, whose mouth is screaming, his mouth is wide open and he has got a cap on his head. A mouth distorted by a grotesque smile and a pair of eyes full of horror is what remains after the “helmet” is removed. Therefore, there is a strong bond that connects the two novels. The subconscious level is not the only level the two novels are connected on, the other level on which the two novels are connected is between the translator and author. The elaborate message that is conveyed is that the world in The Wanting Seed and A Clockwork Orange is equally fascinating to the readership. It is yet to be proved whether the two novels complement each other and represent the same ideas or not – what is the main implication.