Clockwork - Hardcover

Pullman, Phillip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0590129996 ISBN 13: 9780590129992

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 1998

Synopsis

Borrowing elements of Frankenstein, Pinocchio, and Faust, the popular author of The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife creates a suspenseful fantasy tale about an apprentice clockmaker who sells his soul.

About this title

About the Author

Philip Pullman is a renowned author of works for young readers, and the winner of many awards, including the prestigious Whitbread Award for Best Book of the Year for The Amber Spyglass - the first time a children's author has won this coveted prize.

Reviews

Grade 5-8-In a tavern in a small town in Germany, at an unspecified time in the past, a well-respected novelist begins to read aloud his new story, "Clockwork," even though he hasn't finished it-"He was just going to wind up the story, set it going, and make up the end when he got there." He relates a tale of horror that begins with a Prince who suddenly dies and is found to have a piece of clockwork instead of a heart. The Royal Physician decides to question Dr. Kalmenius, a brilliant clockmaster who is referred to as a "philosopher of the night." When that doctor actually enters the tavern as the novelist is reading, everyone leaves in fear, except apprentice-clockmaster Karl. Kalmenius then proposes to Karl a way out of his dilemma of not having crafted a new clock figurine to mark the upcoming end of his apprenticeship. He offers him Sir Ironsoul, a perfectly sculpted mechanical knight that comes alive; only one song can stop him from killing anyone who utters the word "devil." Suffice it to say without recounting a tantalizingly complicated plot, each character gets what he or she deserves. Pullman manages to weave together the threads from both the story and the story within the story in a book filled with tension, menace, and suspense. Whether or not readers understand the references to Faust, Frankenstein, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Pinocchio, they will remain riveted until the final page. Be prepared for many requests for this easy-to-sell title.
Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this tightly wound tale by the author of The Golden Compass and Count Karlstein, clockmaking and clockmakers serve as metaphors for fiction and its practitioners. The quaint (and aptly named) German village of Glockenheim sets great store in its clockmaking tradition: each time an apprentice becomes master of his craft, he commemorates the occasion by adding a new figure to the town's great clock. On the eve of one of these celebrations, a delectably spooky train of events is set in motion when the novelist Fritz sets out to entertain the villagers with his most recent work: the tale of Prince Florian, the deceased local ruler's son, whose fate is linked to a brilliant clockmaker. Fritz's narrative is interrupted by the arrival of a cloaked man who appears to have sprung straight from the pages of his novel: the aforementioned craftsman, enigmatic Dr. Kalmenius of Schatzberg, who has come?or so it seems?to help the gloomy apprentice clockmaker Karl achieve an unearned triumph in the next day's ceremonies. Meanwhile, poor Florian?whose time has nearly run out?stumbles into Glockenheim and finds the innkeeper's sweet daughter Gretl, the one person capable of restoring true life to the mechanical prince. In signature Pullman style, each character gets his or her just deserts with a fairy-tale ending that pays fitting and playful tribute to the story's twin obsessions: "So they both lived happily ever after; and that was how they all wound up." Gore's haunting black-and-white drawings both dramatize key events and reveal something of the characters' psyches. His visual artistry coupled with the luxurious design of this hand-sized volume makes this a tale to return to time after time. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-7. Pullman, the consummate storyteller, offers a deliciously spooky story combining elements of Frankenstein, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Faust. Set in long-ago Germany, the story brings together Fritz, a storyteller, and an inn full of men waiting to hear Fritz's latest tale. The frightening story about a king with a heart made of clockworks becomes horrifyingly real when a hooded, menacing figure from the tale, the mad doctor Kalmenius, enters the inn. Pullman continues mixing elements of Fritz's tale with the real world, as an apprentice clockmaker makes an unholy deal with Kalmenius. The young man brings evil into his world when he takes possession of a mechanical knight who wields his sword with impunity, eventually slaying the apprentice. Yet it is the power of love that wins out when a young girl is able to bring to life a mechanical boy, who has also wandered into the inn from Fritz's story. Deceptively simple on the first reading, the novel contains some complex reflections on the nature of reality and of good and evil. Several of the plot twists are a bit obscure, but the tale mostly runs like clockwork. Full-page black-and-white illustrations occur in each chapter. These soft-edged drawings, full of light and shadow are extremely well crafted and satisfyingly strange. Read this one aloud and discuss it afterward. Ilene Cooper

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0590129996
• ISBN 13: 9780590129992
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128