A Clockwork Orange

I never read the book or saw the Kubric movie adaptation (or any adaptation) but I've read the plot summary.  I've always avoided this kind of story.  Why sit through such unpleasantness?  What is the point? There's more art in the world than one person could ever partake in multiple lifetimes, so why spend any time with such a violent and nihilistic story? I don't get it.  And it actually bothers me that A Clockwork Orange has garnered so much popularity and cultural fame. What the hell is wrong with people? Seriously. Even Burgess repudiated the story in the 80s and said he wished he never wrote it.