Clockwork

Clockwork
by Philip Pullman

Clockwork
Our Price: $12.51
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Philip Pullman
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-09-01
ISBN: 0440863430
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Young Corgi

Summary of Clockwork

A magical tale featuring a tormented clock-maker, a deadly knight in armour, a mechanical prince, and the sinister Dr. Kalmenius, who some say is the devil. There are puzzles and riddles, and twists and turns in the plot.
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

Literature & Fiction Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Women ImageLittle Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops: $5.00
The Killing Ground ImageThe Killing Ground
by JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowning ImageSaving Fish from Drowning
by Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancy ImageLife Expectancy
by Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princess ImageConstant Princess
by Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1) ImageWolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)
by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Sahara ImageSahara
by Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy) ImagePerelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)
by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops: $10.50
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towers ImageThe Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towers
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Mars ImageRed Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
The White Mercedes ImageThe White Mercedes
by Philip Pullman
Laurel Leaf; Published: 1997-07-22; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.50
Price in other shops: $5.50
I Was a Rat! ImageI Was a Rat!
by Philip Pullman, Kevin Hawkes
Yearling; Published: 2002-02-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.84
Price in other shops: $6.99
The Tin Princess: A Sally Lockhart Mystery ImageThe Tin Princess: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2008-09-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.13
Price in other shops: $7.99
The Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery ImageThe Ruby in the Smoke: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2008-09-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.28
Price in other shops: $7.99
Firework-Maker's Daughter ImageFirework-Maker's Daughter
by Philip Pullman
Corgi Childrens; Published: 2004-11-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.87
Count Karlstein ImageCount Karlstein
by Philip Pullman, Diana Bryan
Yearling; Published: 2000-02-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.89
Price in other shops: $5.99
The Tiger in the Well: A Sally Lockhart Mystery ImageThe Tiger in the Well: A Sally Lockhart Mystery
by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2008-09-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.93
Price in other shops: $7.99
Lyra's Oxford ImageLyra's Oxford
by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2007-09-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.66
Price in other shops: $6.99
Once Upon a Time in the North: His Dark Materials (David Fickling Books) ImageOnce Upon a Time in the North: His Dark Materials (David Fickling Books)
by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2008-04-08; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: $12.99