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Summary: A true gem of a book!
Review: "The Thirteen Clocks" is book like a song or a tapestry, weaving bits of alliteration, near-poetic description, and humor-- all in the process of telling a darn good tale. The characters are each like separate jewels, ranging from the evil duke with one leg longer than the other due to kicking so many puppies when he was young, to the whimsical Gollux, a half-magical little man with an indescribable hat. Young-at-heart readers will appreciate the wonderful pictures of Marc Simont and the straight fairy-tale type story in which a wandering prince must rescue the princess from the designs of the evil duke, and other readers will appreciate the sheer craft with which the story was put together.
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Summary: The Thirteen Clocks and the Wonderful O
Review: 'The Thirteen Clocks and the Wonderful O' is one of the childhood books my brother and I still fight over, even aged in our mid to late thirties. It is a perfect combination of stories about princesses, goodies, baddies and above all about what language means. The two books I connect it with in my mind (and I've no idea why the first, some idea about the second) are 'The Phantom Tollbooth' (forgotten the author) and Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Salman Rushdie) which has the same glorious connections between words and metaphor
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Summary: why my daughter always asks me to read this
Review: ...the writing is so lyrical, the characters so funny, and characteristic of thurber, frought with human flaws while still being heroes, and each adventure solved, in the end, by wit and ingenuity. the prose is beautifully tight. it is written, like E.B. White, for the inner ear -- sonorous, and full of Thurber mischief. "I am the Golux, the one and only Golux -- and not a mere device." My eight-year old loves the rhythm. My 11 year old loves the humor, and I love thurber's wink to me about literary devices...for us, this book is always at hand for the sheer joy of reading it aloud.
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Summary: Great Read-Aloud
Review: A few particularly creepy illustrations might scare off the discerning parent, but the text is not threatening. This was a favorite family story to read aloud over a few nights' time. Sensitive kids need not be shown all the book's pictures, but I must say that videos nowadays are a lot more horrifying. This classic is quite funny and not lacking in sophistication. Ages 8 through 108 can enjoy this finely crafted, humorous story with a gothic setting.
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Summary: Indescribable as a Golux's hat
Review: A tremendous piece of literature I was lucky enough to read at age 8. I'm still re-reading it today as an adult and continue to find it imaginitive, without being syrupy or preachy. Our protagonist, the minstral-turned-Prince, must save the Princess Saralinda before the coniving Duke forces her to marry him. The Duke sets out an impossible task for the Prince, hoping that he will perish before he weds Saralinda on her 21st Birthday. What is so amazing about this story is that each character has so much more dimension than the average fairy tale character. At times the Duke is almost likable and the Prince can be frustratingly unheroic. Even Saralinda escapes from the cotton candy persona of most heroines. Sure, she's beautiful, but she has an assumed cleverness that is presented as normal rather than over-emphasized in a Disney-like way. I would highly recommend this book to children and adults alike. A note to eight-year-olds: Look up the hard words. It's worth the time. Trust me
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Summary: Rich, Engrossing
Review: I first bought this book at a school book fair when I was eight. My mother was rushing me out, and the cover looked interesting, and nothing else appealed to me, so I grabbed it. I'm sixteen now, and I still read this book regularly. The language is rich, and deep. The characters are very well crafted, and again, their language is lyrical. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.
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Summary: Xorn of Xorna!! HOORAY for the 13 Clocks!
Review: I first heard this enchantingly wonderful book on cassette tape when i was at art lessons. I would wait impatiently till the next week so I could hear more~ more about the Golux (who resembles only half the things he says he doesn't!) and about Princess Saralinda and the Prince whose name begins with X... and doesn't! This book is full of whimsical wonderful wordplay and contains almost all of my favorite quotes of all time. It isn't very long, but every sentence is filled with some little quips or verbal oddities that, quite literally, made me smile and laugh while reading (a funny sight XD). This book is without question one of my favorites of all time~ a truly wonderful tale that can be read over and over again without ever growing old. Truly classique. I mean, the book that's given me my tagline HAS to be great: "We all have flaws and mine is being evil."
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Summary: Dazzling
Review: I first ran into "The 13 Clocks" when I was sick as a child. I had the radio on, and heard Boris Karloff reading it. I've loved it for 50 years. "The Duke wore a velvet patch over one eye; the other glittered at you through a monacle. When he was young, he had enjoyed turning over rocks and sticks in search of small creatures to maul. One day a mother shrike had mauled him first."
Rating:
Summary: Dazzling
Review: I first ran into "The 13 Clocks" when I was sick as a child. I had the radio on, and heard Boris Karloff reading it. I've loved it for 50 years. "The Duke wore a velvet patch over one eye; the other glittered at you through a monacle. When he was young, he had enjoyed turning over rocks and sticks in search of small creatures to maul. One day a mother shrike had mauled him first."
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Summary: Very good book, etc.
Review: i love this book. our camp counselor read it to us on a campout. it was wonderful, just sitting there and listening to the words of thurber's story unfolding. i know i liked it and i'm sure you'll like it too.you really should read it, otherwise you'll never know what you'll be missing!!!
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