Clock Without Hands

Rating:
Summary: Great, but Revelations are Confusing
Review: Clock Without Hands is another fine example of McCullers' ability to quietly yet intensely probe into the mystery of the human psyche. Her work reminds me of Tennessee Williams at times. This novel deals with an old judge, his grandson and the presence of his dead son, a young Black man, and a pharmacist who is dying of leukemia. There is a revelation near the end of the story concerning the link between most of the characters, but it seems odd considering the Judge's personality and value systems. The last chapter, however, which concerns the pharmacist's worsening illness, is transcendant. An uneven McCullers tale is certainly better than none at all.

Rating:
Summary: Good...definately good...reads fast and good...
Review: Geez...what can I say about this book? Well...I could start by saying that is was an excellent novel. Being 16 years old and all, this book really explained to me how some of the old southerners thought. They still had pride in the "old south" and it fascinated me that the old judge wanted Confederate money to be made redeemable into US dollars. I just could believe it. It portrayed racist, economic, and political issues in a very believable way. It was, all in all, emotional and it really had every emotion contained within it. At times it was funny. At times is was serious. Sometimes it was happy. Sometimes it was sad. It really gets you going once you read the first 10 pages. I liked it very much and do recommend it to everyone -- regardless of age.

Rating:
Summary: Good...definately good...reads fast and good...
Review: Geez...what can I say about this book? Well...I could start by saying that is was an excellent novel. Being 16 years old and all, this book really explained to me how some of the old southerners thought. They still had pride in the "old south" and it fascinated me that the old judge wanted Confederate money to be made redeemable into US dollars. I just could believe it. It portrayed racist, economic, and political issues in a very believable way. It was, all in all, emotional and it really had every emotion contained within it. At times it was funny. At times is was serious. Sometimes it was happy. Sometimes it was sad. It really gets you going once you read the first 10 pages. I liked it very much and do recommend it to everyone -- regardless of age.

Rating:
Summary: interesting story choked by unrealistic characters..
Review: Unlike previous reviewers, I was not terribly impressed with Clock Without Hands. While obviously Carson McCullers wanted to make a rather emotional, dramatic statement regarding racism in a changing 1950s Georgia, I believe she "over-egged the pudding". The story itself is about a small town in Georgia where several related characters, centered on a elderly judge, struggles with the pace of change with regards to racial equality. While the interactions and complications between the characters are interesting and, at times, quite moving, I felt the basic premise of the story was compromised by two-dimensional racial stereotypes. I thought the young protaganist, a blue-eyed negro, was in particular very poorly developed.

However Clock Without Hands does not discourage me from exploring further works from Ms. McCullers. I was particularly impressed by the amazing Reflections in a Golden Eye, which I strongly recommend over Clock Without Hands for those uninitiated with her work.

Rating:
Summary: interesting story choked by unrealistic characters..
Review: Unlike previous reviewers, I was not terribly impressed with Clock Without Hands. While obviously Carson McCullers wanted to make a rather emotional, dramatic statement regarding racism in a changing 1950s Georgia, I believe she "over-egged the pudding". The story itself is about a small town in Georgia where several related characters, centered on a elderly judge, struggles with the pace of change with regards to racial equality. While the interactions and complications between the characters are interesting and, at times, quite moving, I felt the basic premise of the story was compromised by two-dimensional racial stereotypes. I thought the young protaganist, a blue-eyed negro, was in particular very poorly developed.

However Clock Without Hands does not discourage me from exploring further works from Ms. McCullers. I was particularly impressed by the amazing Reflections in a Golden Eye, which I strongly recommend over Clock Without Hands for those uninitiated with her work.

Rating:
Summary: Conflicts and brutality as the Old South slowly dies
Review: Written in 1953, this book explores the racial tensions in a small southern town. The winds of integration are in the air and the Old South is dying. The story is told through several characters. There's a pharmacist dying of leukemia who struggles with the diagnosis. There's a elderly judge who's a former congressman who really believes that the confederate money hoarded in his attic will some day bring him riches. There's the judge's grandson who sees changes coming. And then there's a young blue-eyed Negro who tries to be accepted.

Carson McCullers is a master of setting the stage for this disturbing tale which is certainly not comfortable to read. Each of the characters is exaggerated but that is her intent. She lays out the conflict with surgical precision and creates a world that doesn't exist any more. It's a brutal world and all the sugar coated Southern niceties just don't help. There's violence in the air. I felt it coming throughout and hoped it wouldn't happen. But the conclusion is inevitable.

Fine book. Fine writing. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Conflicts and brutality as the Old South slowly dies
Review: Written in 1953, this book explores the racial tensions in a small southern town. The winds of integration are in the air and the Old South is dying. The story is told through several characters. There's a pharmacist dying of leukemia who struggles with the diagnosis. There's a elderly judge who's a former congressman who really believes that the confederate money hoarded in his attic will some day bring him riches. There's the judge's grandson who sees changes coming. And then there's a young blue-eyed Negro who tries to be accepted.

Carson McCullers is a master of setting the stage for this disturbing tale which is certainly not comfortable to read. Each of the characters is exaggerated but that is her intent. She lays out the conflict with surgical precision and creates a world that doesn't exist any more. It's a brutal world and all the sugar coated Southern niceties just don't help. There's violence in the air. I felt it coming throughout and hoped it wouldn't happen. But the conclusion is inevitable.

Fine book. Fine writing. Recommended.