Under the Eye of the Clock

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully uplifting !
Review: Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !

Rating:
Summary: Because Of "The Banyan Tree"
Review: I found my way to this book after I had read "The Banyan Tree" by Christopher Nolan. This was a book that I read and reviewed back in February, and ever since I have been mystified why the book never seemed to gain the wide acceptance of readers. All of the reviews that have been posted by readers for "The Banyan Tree" have been 5 star reviews, and the same is the case for "Under The Eye Of The Clock".

If you read you understand how difficult it is to write anything, much less a full book, and then have it selected for and win a prestigious award. In the case of the book I review now it was the 1987 Whitbred Award that was awarded to Mr. Nolan. All very impressive, but that's just the start.

This is an autobiography written by a very young man who next wrote the book "The Banyan Tree" and would take 12 years to do so. This is a painfully candid, but uplifting book about a man with the support of a wonderful Family overcomes extreme realities that are his life to become an Author of international renown.

Mr. Nolan cannot speak, he can barely move at all. He types with what he calls his "Unicorn Stick" that he wears on his head, and even then his head must be supported while he works.

An Autobiography is a courageous work if honestly presented. When you add Mr. Nolan's additional challenges he faces as a writer, and as a person living with his physical issues it becomes an extraordinary autobiographical book.

I hope more readers find Mr. Nolan, he is a unique writer of immense talent, and if you pass by his work you deprive yourself of great literature.

Rating:
Summary: An enchanting autobiography
Review: Under the Eye of the Clock is the autobiography of Christopher Nolan, the talented young poet with cerebral palsy. He can't walk or talk or write in the usual manner. Since Nolan lacks the use of his hands, this book like Dam-Burst of Dreams, the book of poems that preceded it, was written by means of a typing stick affixed to his head. The book succeeds both as pure artistry and as a window into the world of the disabled. Nolan has re-named himself Joseph Meehan and told his story entirely in the objectivity of the third person. This brilliant stroke allows him to avoid excessive self-pity while making his sufferings and triumphs real and deep. Nolan's use of language had earned him comparisons with James Joyce, Yeats, and Dylan Thomas. Nolan stretches the meanings and implications of words, rearranges their spelling, and even invents new ones to communicate his moods and perceptions and illuminate life, his own and those he observes, with his unique poet's sensibility.