Daddy Clock: A Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Judy Markey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 1998

What happens when a woman who wants her freedom meets a man who wants to love, honor, cherish--and change diapers?

Meet Charlie Feldman.  An almost-handsome fortysomething sportswriter whose biological daddy clock is ticking loud and clear.  Charlie wants a baby.  Badly.

Enter Lacy Gazzar, a sexy, feisty thirtysomething who's about to send her daughter off to college and finally dive into a grown-up life all her own.  Lacy's more than happy to help Charlie in his search for the perfect mommy.  She's willing to aid him through a hilarious and sometimes humiliating round of personal ads, relentless blind dates, and absolutely appalling encounters.  The one thing she isn't willing to do is have Charlie's baby.

But then they become friends.  Really good friends.  And one hot, magical, moonlit night--well, let's just say accidents will happen.

What comes next is laugh-out-loud, cry-your-eyes-out proof that the course of true love never runs smoothly--and the best-made plans between a man and a woman almost always go wonderfully awry.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Charlie Feldman has a problem. He's 44 and unmarried, and he wants to have a baby before he gets any older. He'd also like to have a wife/mother to go with the baby. To achieve his aim, Charlie must meet a woman and develop a relationship with her. Therein lies the problem. As a sportswriter for a Chicago newspaper, he travels nine to ten months a year following a hockey team. So Charlie needs a plan. Lacy Gazzar, an avowed-never-to-marry-again single mother and the administrative assistant for the "advice" columnist at the newspaper, decides to help Charlie formulate his plan. This seemingly predictable plot offers some surprise twists and turns, with keen understanding and wit, from a new "biological clock" perspective. Reminiscent of the movie When Harry Met Sally, it's essential for all public library shelves.?Annelle R. Huggins, Memphis State Univ. Libs.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Charlie Feldman wants a baby. But where is he going to find the woman to bear him one? In a comic debut novel, narrated alternately by 44-year-old Charlie, a sportswriter for a Chicago daily, and Lacy, a 36-year- old single mom at the paper's advice desk, it's the guy, not the woman, who hears the ticking of a biological clock. The voices of both, though, are authentic and touching, displaying a raucous wit as well as Charlie's believable, desperate yearning for a child of his own. His dream, however, isn't likely to be fulfilled: Younger women are too young, and divorced moms his age don't want more kids, so what's a decent guy to do? Write a personal ad, perhaps, as per the advice of Lacy Gazzar. Meeting by chance at the paper, down-to-earth Lacy proves a sympathetic ear, especially as Charlie begins his dating merry-go-round. Considering their mutual attraction, Lacy is the obvious choice for Charlie, though she wants no part either of romance or babyhood. Pregnant at 18, she now has a teenaged, college-bound daughter of her own who's about to flee the nest, leaving Lacy free at last to pursue her own goal of a college education. But while Charlie's on the road following the home team, he and Lacy develop a close bond via the telephone, and an even closer one on an innocent camping trip that becomes transformed into moonlit passion. Accidentally pregnant again, Lacy is the answer to Charlie's dreams, a woman he loves providing a baby to come. But Lacy has other plans, like never seeing Charlie again after she hands over the baby for him to raise. With gritty humor, Markey builds a convincing story--and one that doesn't follow predictable lines. The only question is whether Lacy can stick to her resolution to stay away. With wit and warmth, newcomer Markey, a longtime syndicated humor columnist in the Chicago Sun-Times, gets the tone just right. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (November 3, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553577433
• ISBN-13: 978-0553577433
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,601,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth a read, but the ending leaves something to be desired., March 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daddy Clock: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

I felt the first half of this book was a some of the most refreshing down to earth writing that I have seen. The Delightful banter between the Lacy and Charlie is at times laugh out lound enjoyable and the layout of the book, one chapter from Charlie's veiw the next from Lacy's works. It helps to create a well rounded story and lets the reader in on each characters lives. However the ending left something to be desired. Alot actually. Given, it doesn't have your typical fairytail ending but it would work if it wasn't so sudden. You are reading along and then it is over. More focus on what Lacy had decided should happen and where it will go from there could have been made prior to the unveiling of the last chapter. Overall I think that if you are looking for a light afternoon read, pick up The Daddy Clock, I guarantee it will give you enough scope for the imagination that you will think of the Characters and their lives after the book is closed.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Moving story, likeable characters, September 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Daddy Clock (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book. I found the characters likeable and I liked the concept of Charlie being a caring, capable father. He handles himself very well once the baby arrives. The story ended at a good spot and let you leave the rest to your imagination. My major complaint was the overuse of the "f" and "s" words and the use of "God" and "Christ" by the two major characters. The side characters were well portrayed and very likeable. I hope the excessive language will be left out of the movie. I look forward to seeing it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Give this book a chance, May 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Daddy Clock (Hardcover)

If you read the editorial and site reviewers, you've got a clue what this book is about. I read this when it was first published, I hunted through the public library to get the unabridged audio version for a road trip. This a book I come back to now and then as a comfort read/listen. The dialogue is bright, snappy and edgy, and the characters are real to me. The female protagonist is not an easy person, I think it takes compassion and a bit of darkness in onself to understand the attraction of a "difficult" woman. I appreciate the first person viewpoint, especially with respect to Charlie, much of what the author has him say about men is true to the way they think and express themselves amongst themselves. The cursing, the companionable silence, the simultaneous contradiction of male vulnerability to and dismissiveness of women. One of the key attractions of this book for me is that Markey doesn't wrap this into a predictable HEA ending. Any number of things could happen to the characters, but the nice thing, for Charlie, his clock started ticking in a different rhythm. Yeah, I did give this 3 stars, three stars is good.