Clockwork [Hardcover]

Phillip Pullman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1998 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

In this story about an apprentice clockmaker who sells his soul, Philip Pullman draws from classic literature to interweave elements of "Frankenstein, Pinocchio, Faust" and "The Nightingale".

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

While Philip Pullman's greatest popularity is as a creator of novel-length magical realism for young adults, such as The Golden Compass, he continues to explore and stretch the limits of other children's and young adult genres. Clockwork is no exception. With its inspiration lying solidly in the German romantic tradition of E.T.A. Hoffmann and the Brothers Grimm, the story begins, as all good fairy tales do, with someone whose human weakness sets events inescapably in motion. As the townspeople of Glockenheim gather in the White Horse Tavern on the eve of the unveiling of a new figure for their great town clock, Karl, the clockmaker's apprentice, reveals to Fritz, a young storyteller, that he has not been able to construct the figure. A new clock figure is expected of all apprentices, and Karl is the first in hundreds of years to fail. Fritz, in his turn, has the beginnings of a new story to tell, and as it rolls off his tongue, its dark antagonist materializes and offers Karl his dearest wish. Not surprisingly, Karl's Faustian pact brings him destruction, but an innocent child is the deus ex machina that saves another child and the spirit of the town from seemingly ineluctable oblivion. With its eerie black-and-white illustrations by Leonid Gore and its happily-ever-after ending to some thrilling suspense, Clockwork is a fine fairy tale for younger children and a thought-provoking twist on the art of narrative for older ones. --Barrie Trinkle

From Publishers Weekly

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.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; 1st ed. US edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590129996
• ISBN-13: 978-0590129992
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (65 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,153,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Philip Pullman does it again, June 25, 1999

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clockwork (Hardcover)

Great book. Very creepy, with some great suspense. The illustrations are beautiful and very appropriate. Some readers have pointed out that the characters are underdeveloped--yes, they are, but that's not at all a fault, as this is a story in the style of folktales, where the characters aren't meant to be fully developed. They don't have to be. All of you who were enchanted by Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy will want to check this out. It's an entertaining quick read, and it will satisfy your hunger for more Philip Pullman books.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For children and us older kids alike, January 27, 2002

By 

F. G. Hamer "MadManxMan" (Isle of Man) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clockwork : Or All Wound Up (Paperback)

As you would expect from Philip Pullman, 'Clockwork' is a skillfully written book with more depth than might be apparent to the younger reader. The events and characters fit together as neatly as the teeth of the clockwork Pullman describes, and the illustrations and textual 'asides' are delightful, offering complementary and contrasting views of the action as it progresses. It is a book which has an enormous amount to offer readers of all ages and is gripping enough to keep you turning those pages.

A post-modern version of Grimms Fairy Tales, 'Clockwork' has a certain gothic horror element to it, whilst retaining an underlying 'adult amusement' value. Pullman effectively combines the two, eliciting fear one moment and laughter the next. All the characters are well crafted but Dr Kalmenius is clearly the best, scoring 10 out of 10 on the villainy scale.

CLOCKWORK: OR ALL WOUND UP is an example of 'children's' fiction at its very best.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a fine fairy tale in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm, October 31, 2001

By 

audrey (white mtns) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Clockwork (Hardcover)

Having read and enjoyed Pullman's 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, I decided to read this tale. It is definitely a fairy story in the tradition of the Brothers Grimm -- not for very young readers, but very entertaining for kids over 10, I'd say. Three interconnected stories revolve around the deeds of the mysterious and ingenious Dr. Kalmenius and his dealings with princes, apprentices and clockwork mechanisms. Though it is 109 pages long, the type is big and there are over 20 full-page illustrations, so this would be a good book for a child who shows an interest in the genre and seems ready to move on to a lengthier and more complex format.