From Publishers Weekly
Like the titular treasure chest of Evans's bestselling The Christmas Box, the eponymous timepiece?"a beautiful rose-gold wristwatch"?of this heart-plucking prequel fairly vibrates with sentimentality. Readers of the former novel will recall how the author met aged widow MaryAnne Parkin and learned of her deceased husband, David, a successful businessman, and how their infant daughter, Andrea, died a tragic death. Here, Evans traces events some 80-odd years back to tell this family's story, but not before recalling the eve of his own daughter's wedding, in 1967, when he presents her with the wristwatch, given to him by MaryAnne. Fragments of David Parkin's diary, dated 1908-1918 and set in Salt Lake City, weave evocatively throughout the author's account of the Parkins' courtship, marriage and family tragedy. At the thematic center of the tale lies the timepiece, bequeathed by a wealthy widow to David's friend Lawrence Flake, a black man who repairs clocks. Events force Lawrence to kill another in self-defense; fearing for his friend, David tells police that he fired the shot, and is exonerated. In revenge, the dead man's friends set a fatal fire at the Parkin house and steal the symbolic timepiece, which will come back to the Parkins only after an extraordinary act of kindness and forgiveness by MaryAnne. Evans has a more ambitious tale to tell here than in The Christmas Box, and he generally carries it off with aplomb, though the dark events of the central story and an unabashedly sappy wedding-eve coda don't quite mesh. The nation's supply of Kleenex is bound to deplete after this hits the bookstore shelves. 500,000 first printing; simultaneous Spanish, large print and audio editions; author tour. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
A sweet romance with a sour ending, TIMEPIECE is narrated with precision and force. A millionaire and a poor pregnant woman make a strange pair but eventually work things out. Gregory Gorton does well with the male lead but falls short on all other parts, sounding irritatingly squeaky as the wife (like a man trying to raise his voice several levels higher to imitate a female's). The other parts sound unrealistic. This fairy tale turned nightmare is timeless but would benefit from a straight reading. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Kirkus Reviews
The prequel to Evans's mega bestseller, The Christmas Box, is longer than the earlier book, has its same cartoony thinness, is just as creaky at the joints--and reveals, if anything, a considerable rise in the tears-per-page ratio. We go back to Salt Lake City, this time to 1908, when David Parkin--thoughtful and sensitive person, millionaire head of Parkin Machinery Co., and collector of clocks--hires as his secretary one MaryAnne Chandler, the young woman (originally from England) destined to become David's wife, to live in his big mansion, and, in time, to become the benevolent, devout, mysteriously wise widow of The Christmas Box. How MaryAnne achieved such wisdom (quick answer: through suffering a lot) is the real subject of this book, and Evans out-Dickenses Dickens in his facile uses of melodrama in getting to his desired end. In Evans's world of tears and truth, people are by and large either all good or all bad, and if MaryAnne's perfections include being attractive, spunky, quick, principled, courageous, loving, and morally unwavering, the qualities of the base and degenerate villains who reduce her life to ashes are her perfect opposites not in some but all ways (``The men entered clumsily, growling in foul and guttural tones, drunk with whiskey and hatred''). In the beginning, there will be marriage, birth, and immeasurable happiness; and then, with purest villainy as its catalyst, there will be profound and equally immeasurable sorrow. But the healing spirit of human love and hope and goodness will not be destroyed entirely, living on in the muted but unquenchable goodness of MaryAnne's heart; in Evans's perfectly choreographed little flurry of symbols at the close; and even in the transformation of one of those pure villains into purely sensitive penitent. Certain handkerchief heaven for many, while others may experience the stirring of--well, let's just say other feelings. (First printing of 500,000; author tour) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
Tulsa World Timepiece is a small treasury of wisdom....You will probably read many books this year; you will not read one written with more skill or more heart than Timepiece.


Book Description
April 3, 1912. "Is this life, to grasp joy only to fear its escape? The price of happiness is the risk of losing it." So reads one of the many wise entries in David Parkin's diary in Timepiece, which traces the miraculous lives of David and his wife MaryAnne as they discover the power of love, loyalty, forgiveness -- and a long-forgotten keepsake that will change the fate of their family for eternity.


Simon & Schuster
"Of all, clockmakers and morticians should bear the keenest sense of priority-their lives daily spent in observance of the unflagging procession of time... and the end thereof." -DAVID PARKIN'S DIARY. JANUARY 3, 1901 So begins Timepiece, the unforgettable story of hope and the source of the wisdom MaryAnne Parkin shared with Richard in The Christmas Box. With the help of David Parkin's diary, Richard discovers the mystery of the timepiece and the significance of MaryAnne's request. Nineteen years previous, only eleven days before her death, MaryAnne Parkin had bequeathed a beautiful rose-gold timepiece to my keeping. "The day before you give Jenna away," she had said, her voice trembling as she handed me the heirloom, "give this to her for the gift." I was puzzled by her choice of words. "Her wedding gift?" I asked. She looked at me sadly, then forced a fragile smile. "You will know what I mean."


About the Author
Richard Paul Evans is the author of eight New York Times bestselling books including the #1 bestseller, The Christmas Box. He has won two Storytelling World awards and the 1998 American Mother's book award. Evans is also the author of five bestselling books for children. There are currently more than eleven million copies of his books in print. All proceeds from Evans' books for children go to The Christmas Box House International, an organization that he founded, dedicated to building shelters and providing services for abused children. Evans shares his time between Florence, Italy and Salt Lake City, Utah with his wife, Keri, and their five children. He is currently working on his next novel.

ANNOTATION

The bestselling author of The Christmas Box now provides readers with an inspirational message which reminds them about the gifts they pass on to their children. Timepiece traces the poignant love story of MaryAnne and David Parkin as they struggle to learn the lessons of love, loyalty, and forgiveness in the face of tragedy. At the heart of the book is an unforgettable story of hope, and the source of wisdom MaryAnne shared with Richard in The Christmas Box.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Hope is a rare gift that, if we are lucky, comes to us with the power to heal our lives. The deepest sense of hope often springs from the hardest lessons in life. It is in the darkest skies that stars are best seen - perhaps it is divine irony that within the darkest moments we are capable of revealing the greatest light, demonstrating what is best with humanity. This is the story of Timepiece. In The Christmas Box a loving widow named MaryAnne taught us that the time spent with loved ones is precious and brief. Timepiece is the story of how she learned those lessons. It traces the lives of David and MaryAnne Parkin as they discover love, loyalty, and the power of forgiveness. Just as MaryAnne bestows on Richard a unique heirloom timepiece to pass on to his own daughter, Timepiece is a gift to pass on to those you love. It's message of the ongoing nature of life is a reminder that the connections from one generation to the next are indelible.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Like the titular treasure chest of Evans's bestselling The Christmas Box, the eponymous timepiece-"a beautiful rose-gold wristwatch"-of this heart-plucking prequel fairly vibrates with sentimentality. Readers of the former novel will recall how the author met aged widow MaryAnne Parkin and learned of her deceased husband, David, a successful businessman, and how their infant daughter, Andrea, died a tragic death. Here, Evans traces events some 80-odd years back to tell this family's story, but not before recalling the eve of his own daughter's wedding, in 1967, when he presents her with the wristwatch, given to him by MaryAnne. Fragments of David Parkin's diary, dated 1908-1918 and set in Salt Lake City, weave evocatively throughout the author's account of the Parkins' courtship, marriage and family tragedy. At the thematic center of the tale lies the timepiece, bequeathed by a wealthy widow to David's friend Lawrence Flake, a black man who repairs clocks. Events force Lawrence to kill another in self-defense; fearing for his friend, David tells police that he fired the shot, and is exonerated. In revenge, the dead man's friends set a fatal fire at the Parkin house and steal the symbolic timepiece, which will come back to the Parkins only after an extraordinary act of kindness and forgiveness by MaryAnne. Evans has a more ambitious tale to tell here than in The Christmas Box, and he generally carries it off with aplomb, though the dark events of the central story and an unabashedly sappy wedding-eve coda don't quite mesh. The nation's supply of Kleenex is bound to deplete after this hits the bookstore shelves. 500,000 first printing; simultaneous Spanish, large print and audio editions; author tour. (Apr.)

AudioFile

A sweet romance with a sour ending, TIMEPIECE is narrated with precision and force. A millionaire and a poor pregnant woman make a strange pair but eventually work things out. Gregory Gorton does well with the male lead but falls short on all other parts, sounding irritatingly squeaky as the wife (like a man trying to raise his voice several levels higher to imitate a female's). The other parts sound unrealistic. This fairy tale turned nightmare is timeless but would benefit from a straight reading. A.G.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

The prequel to Evans's mega bestseller, The Christmas Box, is longer than the earlier book, has its same cartoony thinness, is just as creaky at the joints—and reveals, if anything, a considerable rise in the tears-per-page ratio.

We go back to Salt Lake City, this time to 1908, when David Parkin—thoughtful and sensitive person, millionaire head of Parkin Machinery Co., and collector of clocks—hires as his secretary one MaryAnne Chandler, the young woman (originally from England) destined to become David's wife, to live in his big mansion, and, in time, to become the benevolent, devout, mysteriously wise widow of The Christmas Box. How MaryAnne achieved such wisdom (quick answer: through suffering a lot) is the real subject of this book, and Evans out-Dickenses Dickens in his facile uses of melodrama in getting to his desired end. In Evans's world of tears and truth, people are by and large either all good or all bad, and if MaryAnne's perfections include being attractive, spunky, quick, principled, courageous, loving, and morally unwavering, the qualities of the base and degenerate villains who reduce her life to ashes are her perfect opposites not in some but all ways ("The men entered clumsily, growling in foul and guttural tones, drunk with whiskey and hatred"). In the beginning, there will be marriage, birth, and immeasurable happiness; and then, with purest villainy as its catalyst, there will be profound and equally immeasurable sorrow. But the healing spirit of human love and hope and goodness will not be destroyed entirely, living on in the muted but unquenchable goodness of MaryAnne's heart; in Evans's perfectly choreographed little flurry of symbols at the close; and even in the transformation of one of those pure villains into purely sensitive penitent.

Certain handkerchief heaven for many, while others may experience the stirring of—well, let's just say other feelings.