Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
bit slight, March 4, 2010
This review is from: The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (Borzoi Books) (Hardcover)
The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart, according to the back flap, is the "basis for an album that [Mathias] Malzieu wrote." I'd like to hear the album, because to be honest, I'm thinking his source material may have been better served in that medium. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart isn't a bad book, but even for a novella there isn't much there and too much of it is either implied, assumed, or not earned; all of which wouldn't matter in an album but is disappointing in a book.
The main character, Jack, is given his odd heart at birth in 1874, when his freezes on the coldest day ever in Edinburgh. Dr. Madeline is the mid-wife who gives him the heart to keep him alive and who takes him from his mother, who gives him up to be adopted. Dr. Madeline warns Jack as he grows that his heart is too fragile for strong emotion and he should, therefore, never fall in love. Of course, that is just what Jack does, with a diminutive singer named Miss Accacia. His rival for her affection is the school bully and after a horrible fight, Jack is forced to flee Edinburgh, though it dovetails nicely with his intent to find Miss Accacia who has already left the city. Along the way he picks up a magician friend, finds work in an odd little amusement/fair area, and learns both the joys and the pains of loving with a heart, whether flesh or wood.
There is a nice sense of whimsy through especially the start of the book, a bit of Pinocchio, a bit of Tim Burton, and a strong sense of emotion at the start with his relationships with Dr. Madeline and several of her patients--an alcoholic named Arthur and a pair of prostitutes. And the inevitable love that the reader knows is coming weights heavy on the mind. But when it's introduced, in the form of Miss Accacia, it just never feels real. We're told repeatedly Jack is in love, but the reader never feels it. Beyond the direct dialogue, there just isn't any conveyance of the strength/depth necessary for us to care not just about the love but its impact. The bully compounds the problem as he allegedly turns against Jack because he too loves Miss Accacia, but once more, we neither see nor feel it. The rest of the book is hampered by that simple problem, and so while we dutifully follow Jack on his trek to find her again, and watch as he does and see how their relationship begins or ends, we honestly just don't care much. The reintroduction of the bully at the end makes matters even worse.
Stylistically, there are some wonderfully inventive images in the novella, though it suffers from an overuse of simile/metaphor that on occasion pile one atop the other and become a distraction, especially when they don't neatly work together, as is sometimes the case. This is especially true early on; Malzieu's restraint later in the book makes the good ones shine all the better.
In the end, the core image--the boy with a cuckoo-clock heart--is a wonderfully inventive and compelling one, while the underlying suspense of when will strike and what it's impact will be is equally so. But the execution of story beyond image and premise falls short of their promise. Though I still plan to check out the music--I can see Malzieu's imagery and impressionistic sense working much better in song/music, stripped of the need for straight narrative.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Twirling Clockwork Romance, January 30, 2010
The Boy With The Cuckoo-Clock Heart is one of those literary fairytale keepsakes that comes along only once in a life time. Brilliant, clever, ingenuity at it's best, truly a masterpiece destined to become a classic for many years to come. It is also a very difficult book to describe and doing it justice in a written book review is challenging, because the story is quite a simple one and an age old tale we've seen performed a thousand times before in books, poems, movies, and plays. The Boy With the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a love story. Gene Kelly Singing In The Rain kind of joyous love, mixed with Humphrey Bogart's Casablanca style tragic sad affair. A boy, a girl, their passion, their joys, their trials and tribulations, their heartaches and loss that end up in a chest of memories in someone's dusty attic. So, the basic story is nothing new. It's how Mathias Malzieu tells this soulful tale that makes the story come alive with magic and wonder, laughter and tears, and with all the ingredients that make our hearts thump. This precious little fairytale is made of pixie dust and moonbeams, shimmering snowflakes, the freshness of spring and walking in the rain. It's a drama, it's a comedy, it's a musical, and a fantasy steam punk romance based on what the human heart can conjure up in the midst of unconditional love. What a glorious opulent opera this would make!
Dr. Madeline is a midwife to fallen women who can't afford to keep their bastard children. On the coldest night of the year, in a tiny Edinburgh village, she adopts a baby boy with a faulty heart and replaces it with a cuckoo-clock. Little Jack's heart beats with an odd tick and strange tock, and is raised to believe his heart will not withstand the shaky tumult that falling in love can cause. Dr. Madeline warns him over and over, to stay away from love, to avoid matters of the heart, for his little wooden clock is much to frail to bear the excitement of love and the hurt it eventually brings to those who fall prey to cupid's darts. Ignoring her wisdom, and as Jack becomes a young man, he ventures out into the world to one day meet a beautiful singing girl in the town square. Her angelic voice beckons, his heart thumps wildly, and Jack must have this sexy siren called Miss Acacia. From here to the end of this twinkling little book that shines like a beacon in the night, a glorious love story unfolds that will have Jack traversing across Europe through London, Paris and the mountains of Spain, as he follows his wooden heart and experiences the ups and downs of love and lust as Miss Acacia leads him on a merry chase. The whirlwind treasure trove of mixed up emotions that cause earthquakes in Little Jack's soul, and tremors to his mechanical cuckoo-clock heart, will have readers cheering him on as he learns the ways of courtship and love from a ragtag band of unlikely friends and foes.
Due to the flavor and sexual content, this is not a children's fairytale. It is for adults only and one that would make a wonderful Valentine's Day gift or any gift of the heart from one lover to another, or for any hopeless romantic. My only wish would have been to see the book published with illustrations for additional enhancement. This book is optioned for a film and one can find a very creative and entertaining video trailer of the story online that is worth seeing. Sparks of Edward Scissorhands and tidbits of The Corpse Bride come to mind when reading this book, and for certain it does have that Tim Burton flair to it.
Mathias Malzieu's premier debut knocked my socks off. His talent for story telling and ability to weave passages of beautiful words were akin to the creation of a fine oriental carpet. Full of vivid life and spirit, this book is one of those gems that will sparkle and stay on people's book shelves forever never to be parted with. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo...Don't miss this folks!!! Don't even think about missing out on this literary experience!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Meh. Average., August 27, 2010
This review is from: The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (Borzoi Books) (Hardcover)
The Boy With the Cuckoo Clock Heart first caught my attention when I discovered Dionysus's (who the author of this book sings in) album, "La Mechanique du Coeur" (French.) I enjoyed the album enough to purchase the book, used instead of new. I'm glad I did.
Though the concept of the book is very intriguing -- a boy born with a frozen heart -- it is also hard to swallow, even for a fairytale. I found no justification for Jack the Ripper, and the constant stream of love lost and love gained got stale real fast. The cutsy sexual inuendos made me chuckle, at the most. I had a hard time accepting the idea of two kids, about the age of twelve, making love. The plot moves fast (so fast you almost miss some major plotholes), making this a very easy read. At least all is summed up in the end.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
