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, clockmaking and clockmakers serve as metaphors for fiction and its practitioners," said PW in a starred review. "A tale to return to time after time." Ages 8-12. (Oct.) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-In a tavern in a small town in Germany, at an unspecified time in the past, a well-respected novelist begins to read aloud his new story, "Clockwork," even though he hasn't finished it-"He was just going to wind up the story, set it going, and make up the end when he got there." He relates a tale of horror that begins with a Prince who suddenly dies and is found to have a piece of clockwork instead of a heart. The Royal Physician decides to question Dr. Kalmenius, a brilliant clockmaster who is referred to as a "philosopher of the night." When that doctor actually enters the tavern as the novelist is reading, everyone leaves in fear, except apprentice-clockmaster Karl. Kalmenius then proposes to Karl a way out of his dilemma of not having crafted a new clock figurine to mark the upcoming end of his apprenticeship. He offers him Sir Ironsoul, a perfectly sculpted mechanical knight that comes alive; only one song can stop him from killing anyone who utters the word "devil." Suffice it to say without recounting a tantalizingly complicated plot, each character gets what he or she deserves. Pullman manages to weave together the threads from both the story and the story within the story in a book filled with tension, menace, and suspense. Whether or not readers understand the references to Faust, Frankenstein, The Velveteen Rabbit, and Pinocchio, they will remain riveted until the final page. Be prepared for many requests for this easy-to-sell title.Ellen Fader, Multnomah County Library, Portland, ORCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 4^-7. Pullman, the consummate storyteller, offers a deliciously spooky story combining elements of Frankenstein, the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Faust. Set in long-ago Germany, the story brings together Fritz, a storyteller, and an inn full of men waiting to hear Fritz's latest tale. The frightening story about a king with a heart made of clockworks becomes horrifyingly real when a hooded, menacing figure from the tale, the mad doctor Kalmenius, enters the inn. Pullman continues mixing elements of Fritz's tale with the real world, as an apprentice clockmaker makes an unholy deal with Kalmenius. The young man brings evil into his world when he takes possession of a mechanical knight who wields his sword with impunity, eventually slaying the apprentice. Yet it is the power of love that wins out when a young girl is able to bring to life a mechanical boy, who has also wandered into the inn from Fritz's story. Deceptively simple on the first reading, the novel contains some complex reflections on the nature of reality and of good and evil. Several of the plot twists are a bit obscure, but the tale mostly runs like clockwork. Full-page black-and-white illustrations occur in each chapter. These soft-edged drawings, full of light and shadow are extremely well crafted and satisfyingly strange. Read this one aloud and discuss it afterward. Ilene Cooper


Book Description
Frankenstein-meets-Pinnochio-meets-Faust in this incredible feat of storytelling. Fritz, the writer, spins a spine-tingling tale to cheer up Karl, the apprentice clockmaker. But rather than helping matters, the story beings to come true....


Card catalog description
Long ago in Germany, a storyteller's story and an apprentice clockwork-maker's nightmare meet in a menacing, lifelike figure created by the strange Dr. Kalmenius.

ANNOTATION

Long ago in Germany, a storyteller's story and an apprentice clockwork-maker's nightmare meet in a menacing, lifelike figure created by the strange Dr. Kalmenius.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Long ago in Germany, a storyteller spins a spine-tingling tale to cheer up Karl, the apprentice clock maker. But rather than helping matters, the story begins to come true.

FROM THE CRITICS

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. (Oct.)

Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr

Pullman takes a sabbatical from his brilliant "His Dark Materials" trilogy to tell a smaller story steeped in the traditions of fantasy and fairy tale. In a small, medieval German town it is the evening before the local clockwork apprentice will unveil his masterwork for the town clock. Karl is morose because he has not completed his project. Enter the storyteller Fritz, Gretl, the innkeeper's young daughter, a mysterious prince, and the devil in disguise, as the story flashes backward and forward with the inexorableness of clockwork.

Children's Literature - Christine Hudak

The narrator invites the reader into the "old days" of a small German town where superstition and fascination with the mysteries of life are woven into the daily experiences of townsfolk. Upon entering the small local tavern on a cold snowy evening, the townsfolk are gathered in anticipation of the great event that takes place on the morrow. Karl, the young clockmaker's apprentice, is schedule to unveil his new figure for the great clock of Glockenheim. Two seemingly separate tales unfold through the character, Fritz the Storyteller, as he tells his new, unfinished tale to those present. Reminiscent of Grimm's Fairy Tales, the reader enters the dark world of magic, forests and suspense with "Prince Florian." The magic of Pullman is that he intertwines the present and the make-believe into a reality filled with greed, danger and bravery. Although the mood is somber, the young heroine, Gretl, surmounts the intangible obstacles through her simple goodness of heart. Pullman's style of writing elicits such strong visual images that one can feel the warmth from the fireplace and the snow swirls outside the little tavern window. The soft shadings of the 23 black and white illustrations complement the dimensions of mystery and elusiveness in the story by adding intensity to the text. A notable feature of this book is the 5 x 7-inch size. It retains the intimacy that the story elicits and fits snugly into the hand. This is a story that can be read aloud by families or privately by older readers.

Children's Literature - Jan Lieberman

How will Fritz the storyteller end the story he is relating to townspeople in the White Horse tavern? Karl, one of the listeners, is the clockmaker's apprentice. He has failed to make a new figure for the town clock and he dreads the humiliation he will face the next day. He is so entranced with Fritz's story that he doesn't care. Without warning, one of the characters of Fritz's story appears in the tavern, the evil clockmaker Dr. Kalmenius. Kalmenius offers Karl a clockwork figure with diabolical power. Sir Ironsoul is his name. Upon hearing the word "devil," he will stab the speaker in the throat! What will Karl do? To find out, you'll have to read this gothic fable. Pullman's books haunt you through complex characters, unusual settings, and intriguing plots.

The ALAN Review - Sam D. Gill