A Clock Without Hands

By Guy Burt

Book Overview

"I want to turn back the hands on the clock and change it all, make it different; three friends who meet up by chance in an old city and share a beer and laugh at old stories and jokes. But it wasn't like that; and the clock has no hands, so I can't turn them back." p.171]

Alex Carlise has returned to a place he thought he'd never see again, outside of his dreams. As he walks the ochre-dusted road to the house in which he grew up, the memories of his young life in a small Italian town push all other thoughts out of his head: thoughts about the major exhibition of his artwork opening soon in London, thoughts of the myriad things he should be doing in preparation-everything subsides to make room for the warm flood of a time long past.

When he opens the door to the now-deserted house, he is suddenly seven again. There is Jamie, his first friend, his best friend; Anna, his first love; and the delicious days they spent exploring the valley and swimming in the cerulean blue Mediterranean Sea. It all comes back to Alex in a way he can neither control nor discern. But the memories are insistent, demanding. Soon Alex loses entire hours to the past, overwhelmed by the haunting memories of a youth turned tragic.

Alex remembers the day he, Jamie, and Anna went to their favorite place, an abandoned church far up in the hills. There they stumbled upon a man, injured and sick. From this discovery, a series of events tumbled forth that would change them all forever. Alex now realizes that he must confront the truth about himself, about the echoes of the past that still haunt him, and about the friends whose legacy has meant only devastation.

Guy Burt's vision of youth is piercingly accurate, and his sense of how time can play tricks on the mind is startling. Haunting, eerie, and remarkably assured, The Clock Without Hands will resonate with the child that hides inside your own memories.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345446577
• ISBN13: 9780345446572
• Release Date: October 2005
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent!

Perfect condition! Excellent shipping time and condition! Would recommend for everyone! Excellent price! Like new but about 99% off the price, which can't get any better!

Masterful, like a holographic painting

I don't think I've ever seen an author handle flashback storytelling as masterfully as in this novel. It seems effortless to move forward and back among three primary characters and 4-5 time periods, sometimes after as little as a paragraph and with no explicit announcement of the time changes. Yet I was never lost. Additionally, the story is beautifully visual. I imagined holographic images in deep oil-paint tones layering over each other with space and depth. Combine this with compelling layers of plot and character revelations until Burt has crafted a rich, three-dimensional masterpiece. I've never experienced anything like it. I loved the characters (Alex is extraordinarily well-defined) and their relationships and couldn't put the book down. A bit dark for a novel about childhood relationships and growing up, but nevertheless gorgeous. Innovative. Rewarding. While there are some minor flaws (e.g., parents just a little too out of the picture), it is one of the most satisfying reads in a very long time.

See What's Become of Me

After a death in the family, Alex has returned to his childhood home, which prompts him to re-live the events in his life in which he has purposefully chosen to forget. Throughout the novel, he seeks to understand how the events of one summer could change his life forever. The majority of the novel takes place in Alex's childhood, where he and his best friends Anna and Jamie stumble upon "the hermit" in a deserted chapel. The hermit is a mystery- he is critially wounded yet pleads that the children don't seek help for his injuries. Instead, the three friends take it upon themselves to care for the hermit for the duration of that summer. The secret kept among Alex, Jamie, and Anna forms an unbreakable bond, yet they soon realize that knowing the true nature of the hermit may haunt them for the rest of their lives. As you follow the three friends into their teenage and adult lives, Alex struggles to keep their friendship strong, not fully understanding the consequences of that summer's events. It is only in retrospect that Alex begins to realize how fluid time is- how things sometimes cannot be fully understood until it's too late to change them. Guy Burt has written the novel in a style which reflects the scattered memories of the narrator, which lends credibility to the emotional impact of the story. Although some plot lines where somewhat predictable, there were other events in the novel which were completely shocking. I was touched by this novel, and I would strongly recommend this book.

moving.....

this novel is really emotive, I kept thinking about it for days after I finished it. There's something special about his characters....Alex, Jamie and Anna, and something in the ambience of the novel that is so real. Highly recommended.

Dandelion Clock by Guy Burt

"The Dandelion Clock" by Guy Burt is an incredibly well-crafted, touching novel. Through a series of flashbacks it tells the tale of Alex, James, and Anna, their childhood together in Italy and the tragic outcome. Guy Burt has done an amazing job of conveying the beauty of the childrens' relationships and the bitterness in the ensuing tragedy. This book is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. I am eagerly looking forward to any future novels by Guy Burt.