The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart [Hardcover]

Lovely. Lovely. Lovely. This fantastic little fable is a beautifully written adult fairytale. Very macabre and just a touch steampunk [without the sci-fi element - not sure if that's possible? But that's how I'm describing it!], the story is about `Little Jack' who was born with a frozen heart on the coldest day of the year. He is saved by Dr Madeline who, knowing his heart will need a little help to keep going, implants a cuckoo clock and saves his life.

Little Jack grows up in Dr Madeline's orphanage in Edinburgh. He is warned that his heart is a very fragile thing and won't be able to take strong emotions like love or hate. When Little Jack is 10 years old, Dr Madeline allows him to leave the orphanage for the first time and head into the city. While out exploring he spies a young street performer and immediately fall head-over-heels in love. The street performer in question, Miss Acacia, is taken away from Edinburgh quite suddenly and Little Jack pines for her until the day he is able to leave Edinburgh himself to track her down.

The story sweeps across Europe taking in Edinburgh, London, Paris and Andalucia. Along the way our protagonist meets a diverse assortment of individuals including George Melies [the first cinematographic director] and Jack the Ripper. Time moves like a rollercoaster through this little book, some bits are zoomed right over and others are told in lingering detail. Malzieu's prose is beautiful and poetic, scattered with so many metaphors that it almost overloads the senses. It translates wonderfully. I can see why it was a bestseller in France.

There are some delightful moments like when Little Jack sees a clock tower and asks "Is that my father?" There are also some lovely silly moments like... well I won't spoil it for you but the story of how he names his hamster cracked me up.

Be warned though this is NOT A CHILDREN'S STORY! Older teenagers might enjoy it but overall it's aimed at adults. There are a fair few sexual references as the book progresses and even early on in the story there are a few innocently erotic remarks.

The main theme of the book really is about seizing the moment, not being afraid to live & not letting life pass you by.

Cleverly, the cover art puts you in mind of Tim Burton-esq films, specifically `The Corpse Bride' `Edward Scissor-hands' & `Big Fish' and that is the kind of imagery that is consistent throughout the whole story. In fact Dr Madeline just screams to be played by Helena Bonham-Carter, though it would work better as an animation in most respects. The only thing I can think that would have made it just a touch better would have been having woodcut style pictures dotted throughout. It's quite a short book too [167 pages] but there is a lot packed in there. Fan's of Neil Gaiman's `The Graveyard Book' would probably enjoy this.

It really is a little gem!

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"Can we catch trains as well? Because I'm a bit pressed for time..."
"Oppressed by time?"
"That too."

I found this book rather disappointing as it could have been truly wonderful. The central idea of a boy with a delicate, cuckoo-clock heart that cannot cope with strong emotion is a charming one, and there were several points where the imaginative ideas of the author were both original and enchanting. However, the execution does not live up to the ideas. The romance between the two central characters is presented as far too sexual in nature for their ages at the beginning of the story, which makes it very unrealistic(though is perfectly appropriate later as teenagers in the throes of hormones and passion). Whilst the language is very beautiful at points, sometimes that beauty has absolutely no meaning - just nice words which don't actually say anything (although I did read this in translation, so it is hard to know how much of this is the author and how much the translation). The story is bitty and underdeveloped, as are most of the characters. This was particularly problematic with Miss Acacia, who I never felt I got to either know or understand. In particular, anachronistic references to modern icons such as Charles Bronson are totally inappropriate in a late nineteenth century context and really distanced me from the story. I feel this is a book that could really have benefited from the hand of a great editor to sharpen it up - the essential gothic fairytale story is quite a lovely one with a fantastic mix of dark and light, but the writing lets the ideas down.

I saw that title and that wonderful cover and I was intrigued.

I read the contents and I was enchanted.

The Boy With The Cuckoo-Clock Heart is a fairy tale with a grown-up twist. It's a little bit dark and a little bit gothic. And it's quite beautifully done.

The story begins in Edinburgh on the 16th day of April 1974. The coldest night that the world has ever known.

In an old house at the top of a high hill a young girl, alone in the world, is giving birth to a child. But that child, a boy, is born with a frozen heart.

It is fortunate that he was delivered into the world by Doctor Madeleine, She is known as a "mad-wife", because she brings into the world the children of prostitutes and abandoned women. And she has a keen interest in prosthetics too. So, of course, she knows just how to help baby Jack.

Snip, snip, snip, she cuts into his chest and removes the frozen heart. And what can she replace it with. Ah yes - a cuckoo clock!

The operation is a success, and Jack's mother leaves him in Doctor Madeleine's hands.

The story is lovely and it is enhanced by some lovely writing. The cold, dark night and the old house are brought to life with perfect details and everything simply but wonderfully described.

Time, of course, moves on.

Jack thrives under Madeleine's watchful eyes but, of course, is not like other boys. Each day begins with a wind-up, and a reminder from Doctor Madeleine of the strictures he must follow. And that makes him an outsider.

It is probably inevitable that Jack will one day break the rules. Of course he does! He falls in love with Miss Acacia, a beautiful young street-singer, His gears screech and his hands whizz around. And that's not his only problem. He has a fierce rival for miss Acacia's affections.

So Jack is in all sorts of trouble.

And that leads him into a journey. A quite extraordinary journey. He will cross paths with a fabulous selection of characters. He will visit strange and exotic places. And he will learn a great deal about life and love.

There's a lot going on, but it would be unfair to say any more.

The story is engaging, but it is the way it is dressed up that make it so special. The inventiveness, those lovely details, those wonderful descriptions really make it sing.

I was gripped until the very last word - which was just right - and though I have had to leave Jack behind I will not forget him, or his story.

Mathias Malzieu's influences are clear, but they have clearly inspired him - he has created a magical little book.