Clockwork
by Philip Pullman
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Long ago in Germany, a storyteller's story and an apprentice clockwork-maker's nightmare meet in a menacing, lifelike figure created by the strange Dr. Kalmenius.Tags
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"...rumors and guesses flew through the palace and the city like shuttles in a loom, weaving a story of corpses and ghosts, of curses and devils, of death and life and clockwork. But no one knew the truth."
A haunting little puzzle of stories: A clockmaker's apprentice fears the next day's exposure when all will realize he hasn't made an addition to the town's famous clock tower. A storyteller begins a story that came to him in a dream, without knowing how it will end. A character from that story enters the inn where the story is being told. A clockwork prince is saved by his father's sacrifice, and again by an innkeeper's daughter's cleverness and affection. And the clockmaker's apprentice meets his fate at the point of a clockwork show more knight's sword.
See also: Kate DiCamillo, Brian Selznick, Chris Van Allsburg, Kate Atkinson (for adults), Leah Hager Cohen (for adults) show less
A haunting little puzzle of stories: A clockmaker's apprentice fears the next day's exposure when all will realize he hasn't made an addition to the town's famous clock tower. A storyteller begins a story that came to him in a dream, without knowing how it will end. A character from that story enters the inn where the story is being told. A clockwork prince is saved by his father's sacrifice, and again by an innkeeper's daughter's cleverness and affection. And the clockmaker's apprentice meets his fate at the point of a clockwork show more knight's sword.
See also: Kate DiCamillo, Brian Selznick, Chris Van Allsburg, Kate Atkinson (for adults), Leah Hager Cohen (for adults) show less
A short, strange, dark little clockwork fairy tale, featuring fascinating, creepily blurred black-and-white illustrations. It's definitely aimed at kids -- at least, at kids who enjoy darker and scarier stuff than their parents probably think they should, which I'm betting is a lot of kids -- but it's also an interesting read for adults, with an odd, vaguely meta story-within-a-story-but-it's-all-the-same-story structure. Despite an ending that was perhaps a bit disappointingly pat, I enjoyed it a lot, and boy do the illustrations really add to the atmosphere.
I reread this this afternoon, because I simply wanted to lose myself in a story for a couple of hours. Rereading is always a delight because a story is never twice the same. Even so, I couldn't quite switch off the analytical bit of my brain. Previously, I'd not noticed how spectacularly well this story is constructed. Structure, pace, and interest are hard to fault. It's a fairy tale, so characters are there to perform their role, not to be developed. Even so, Pullman carefully constructs sympathy towards two characters who are still standing at the end – you can't really call them protagonists; that's not how it works.
I also hadn't noticed how the tale is a warning to storytellers. And this is because, since my last reading, I've show more read Pullman's, Daemon Voices. The warning is to rehearse your story and know your ending. Fritz didn't. And look what happened! show less
I also hadn't noticed how the tale is a warning to storytellers. And this is because, since my last reading, I've show more read Pullman's, Daemon Voices. The warning is to rehearse your story and know your ending. Fritz didn't. And look what happened! show less
What an odd little story... Pullman has written what feels exactly like a Grimm's farirytale - magical events, mysterious persons, slightly frightening occurrences, and a finale that leaves the reader slightly uneasy. Besides the at time choppy storytelling - the jump between the story and the meta-story is a bit rough - I did enjoy reading this book. Clearly Pullman wrote this to be a swift tale for younger audiences, but I feel that he has done himself a bit of an injustice by not fleshing out the story into a full novel. Both the story and the meta-story had the potential to be woven into a longer narrative, so I'm slightly disappointed that Pullman chose to keep it confined in length.
A quick read that is creepy and page turning. A character from a tale in an inn walks in on his own story being told. An apprentice is 'so afraid of failing he never really tried'. Contrasts between those who sacrifice themselves for others and those who sacrifice others for themselves.
Highly creative and captivating, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale of an apprentice clockmaker who cannot meet the necessity of the job and resorts to unethical tactics. The list of characters are well developed with stories that all weave together, like a clock ticking, ticking, ticking.
Recommended!
Recommended!
Philip Pullman writes dark stuff, generally, and I really loved the His Dark Materials trilogy, but this little book (and it is little) was downright creepy. It's a quick read, maybe an hour, but unless you like nightmares, don't read it at dark or you will be looking over your shoulder for a single-minded ironclad knight with a sharp sword. Trust me.
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Author Information
90+ Works 150,598 Members
Philip Pullman was born in Norwich on October 19, 1946. He graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English. He taught at various Oxford middle schools and at Westminster College for eight years. He is the author of many acclaimed novels, plays, and picture books for readers of all ages. His first book, Count Karlstein, was published in show more 1982. His other books include: The Firework-Maker's Daughter; I Was a Rat!; Clockwork or All Wound Up; and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. He is also the author of the Sally Lockhart series and the His Dark Materials Trilogy. He is the author of The Book of Dust, volume 1. He has received numerous awards including the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Fiction Award for Northern Lights (The Golden Compass), the Whitbread Book of the Year Award for The Amber Spyglass, the Eleanor Farjeon Award for children's literature in 2002, and the Astrid Lindgren Award in 2005. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- La mécanique du diable
- Original title
- Clockwork
- Alternate titles
- Clockwork, or All Wound Up
- Original publication date
- 1996
- Epigraph
- The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike, the devil will come, and Faustus must be damn'd... -- Christopher Marlowe, Dr. Faustus
- First words
- Once upon a time (when time ran by clockwork) a strange event took place in a little German town.
- Quotations
- "What did he look like, this philosopher of the night? He was very tall and thin, with a prominent nose and jaw. His eyes blazed like coals in caverns of darkness. His hair was long and gray, and he wore a black cloak with... (show all) a loose hood like that of a mink; he had a harsh, grating voice, and his expression was full of savage curiosity.
"And that was the man who-"
Fritz stopped.
He swallowed, and his eyes moved to the door. Everyone followed his gaze. The parlor had never been so still. No one moved, no one dared to breathe, for the latch was lifting.
The door slowly opened.
On the threshold stood a man in a long black cloak with a loose hood like a monk's. His gray hair hung down on either side of his face: a long, narrow face with a prominent nose and jaw, and eyes that looked like burning coals in caverns of darkness. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)So they both lived happily ever after; and that was how they all wound up.
- Original language
- English
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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