The characters are portrayed to be "quirky" but instead come off as second rate soap opera stars. The title of the book adds a non-existant air of mystique that was found to be of little relevance to the story; metaphorically or literally. The "climax" of the story is rushed, lacking any true tone of foreclosure, as though the author herself grew as bored writing the book as this reader did of reading it. The ending of the story lacked coherance; suddenly changing to the perspective of a character hardly mentioned throughout the rest of the book.
Although in retrospect, it can be admitted that the swarming of cicadas in the final chapter would make a very dramatic scene in a B-rated horror movie; however, they lacked any place in this story except for very modest symbolism, with horrid timing. If they were meant to represent the inner demons of the Emersons (as I suspect they were) then they would have been much better suited in a chapter that has a more direct connection to the problems the Emerson's faced. ( )

2363 The Clock Winder, by Anne Tyler (read 25 Feb 1991) This is Tyler's fourth book, published in 1975. I did not like it nearly as well as I did If Morning Ever Comes. This is about a weird family--the Emersons--and about Elizabeth, who becomes Mrs. Emerson's handyman. Everyone is so unusual, though all turns out half-way well. It was very funny once in a while, but rather disjointed. Elizabeth at one point at the altar says "I don't" and the wedding doesn't occur. ( )

The kids have all (finally!) left home for college, so the other day I thought it was time to head down to the downstairs, where their bedrooms were, with a pitchfork and clean the place up some. What a disaster! The only bright spot in my otherwise dreary day was sorting and dusting and rearranging the myriad books down there I had forgotten we owned. It was almost like a high-school reunion with old friends! I found this book, an early one from Anne Tyler that I must have read in the 1970s, and I couldn't remember it, so I started to read it again. It is not my favorite Anne Tyler, but you see evidence of the quirky dialog and strange, drifting characters that were to become her trademark. I guess at one time I must have owned every book Anne Tyler ever wrote, and I've always found them good for another read. ( )

I love Elizabeth, she is one of my favourite characters and the Emersons are truly a wonderful family. Only Anne Tyler could have imagined them. Elizabeth comes to Mrs Emerson following the dismissal of a handyman who had chosen to relieve himself on the rosebushes. Soon Mrs Emerson can't manage without her and the rest of the Emerson family are also drawn to her in various ways. Anne Tyler has never let me down yet but this is absolutely her at her best. ( )

Anne Tyler is my favorite active writer, and she has built a body of work which I feel would warrant a Nobel for Literature someday. "The Clock Winder" is, as always, extremely well-crafted, and draws one to care deeply for its eccentric and dislocated characters. A satisfying ending, and one of my favorite lines: "Pieces of Emersons were lodged within Elizabeth like shrapnel." ( )