I'd be lying if I said my eyes didn't gobble up the cover of this book in a single blink. Originally, it was bought for my sister's birthday and I couldn't wait to get my greedy little hands on it.
Set in Edinburgh, 1874. It's the coldest night the world has ever seen and Little Jack has just been born; with a frozen heart. Doctor Madeleine, a lady who drinks her own tears, fits Jack with a cuckoo-clock heart; a device that must be wound up everyday to keep him alive.
Translated into English from its original French, this book quite simply oozes beauty. The imagery on the first page alone made my expectations rise exponentially. "Edinburgh and its steep streets are being transformed. Fountains metamorphose, one by one, into bouquets of ice."
Translated into English from its original French, this book quite simply oozes beauty. The imagery on the first page alone made my expectations rise exponentially. "Edinburgh and its steep streets are being transformed. Fountains metamorphose, one by one, into bouquets of ice."
I expected a dark gothic fairy tale, but what I got was far from it and it wasn't just the anomalies of mentioning the World Cup Finals and Charles Manson in a story set in 1874. I simply couldn't connect with with the protagonist, his love interest or his overbearing adoptive mother.
The romance in the story began much too quickly for my liking, I found myself needing to read it in very small doses. Jack's feelings for the heel stomping diva Miss Acacia turned from puppy love to a sickly obsession in a matter of lines.
The romance in the story began much too quickly for my liking, I found myself needing to read it in very small doses. Jack's feelings for the heel stomping diva Miss Acacia turned from puppy love to a sickly obsession in a matter of lines.
I was made to endure every flutter of Acacia's parasol eyes and every cringey metaphor or Jack's cuckoo-heart/penis within the first five chapters. I was beginning to hate my love for poetic imagery. "I'm sitting here alone on my bed, trying to relieve my aching clock by squeezing the gears between my fingers."
Although warming this old romantic's heart, I found this to be a very difficult read. Usually a book of this size would take me less than half a day to read, but it took 3.
In the end (apart from being beautifully written) what really kept me reading and the additional factor to my final rating, the quirky, love sick lothario and clockmaker Georges Melies. (Who, incidentally is based on the REAL LIFE Georges Melies.) I found him charming, I wish there was LOTS more of him.
Although warming this old romantic's heart, I found this to be a very difficult read. Usually a book of this size would take me less than half a day to read, but it took 3.
In the end (apart from being beautifully written) what really kept me reading and the additional factor to my final rating, the quirky, love sick lothario and clockmaker Georges Melies. (Who, incidentally is based on the REAL LIFE Georges Melies.) I found him charming, I wish there was LOTS more of him.
RATING: ★★☆☆☆
No comments:
Post a Comment