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Title: The House With a Clock In Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt)
ISBN: 0142402575
Author:
John Bellairs
Publicate Date: 2004-08-03
Publish: 2004-08-03
List Price: $5.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $0.99
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $0.01
Amazon Merchant Price: $5.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: mystery for the younger set
In what will be familiar story for readers of children's literature, Louis Barnavelt has just lost both of his parents and has been sent to live with an eccentric family member. With illustrations by Edward Gorey, John Bellairs creates a wondrous Gothic environment for his narrator in The House With a Clock in Its Walls. Lewis' new home is "a three-story stone mansion with a tall turret on the front," and is full of hidden passageways and secrets. Lewis is a likable character and will appeal to readers who like to imagine themselves in such situations. His everyday obstacles, such as dealing with bullies at school, are contrasted by his life at home, where he is surrounded by his witch neighbor, magician uncle, and a mysterious ticking in the walls. The House With a Clock in Its Walls is delightfully scary, and will be of particular interest to those who enjoy mysteries.
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2: True horror
They don't write kiddie horror like this anymore. I used to be addicted to John Bellairs as a kid, and then I grew up and sadly moved on. When I finally read this again, I was totally blown away by the incredible characterization and plot with more terror and creativity than what one sees in adult horror these days.
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3: Scary kidlit
For all who might argue that this is a rehash of Lemony Snicket, J.K. Rowling, or whomever, can we just remember that this book predates them all by at least two decades? This is genuinely creepy adolescent fiction, and if your child is prone to nightmares, I wouldn't let her have it at age 10. It's also a moral story (in a way that Harry Potter has never been) about our infinite capacity to do evil without meaning to, and the terrifying responsibility that doing so entails to try to right things. Harry might suffer the usual case of teenaged angst, but Lewis really has done a terrible thing, out of questionable motives, and his guilt and misery really resonate with children who know that they have the potential to do the same. And yet he prevails, in the face of real terror. Give it a try; Bellairs is good and Gorey's illustrations are classic.
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4: Great Read Reminiscent of Poe
The House with a Clock in It's Walls is about a young boy named Lewis who's parents have died recently and has now gone to live with his uncle Jonathan. His uncle Jonathan is this wonderfully strange man who lives in a wonderfully strange mansion with a wonderfully strange neighbor by the name of Mrs. Zimmerman. Lewis soon learns that Uncle Jonathan and Mrs. Zimmerman both dabble in magic...he also learns of a clock buried in the walls of the mansion, and of his uncle's strange obsession with clocks.
Lewis is also going through a rough adjustment process. He's in a new town with new relatives and is trying to make friends. But he's a little chubby kid who's horrible at sports. When one of the popular boys at school shows an interest in him, he does everything he can to keep him as a friend. He goes as far as jumping into aspects of magic and necromancy that he knows nothing about. In doing so, Lewis may have awakened something that can't be put back to rest.
I really enjoyed this first book in the trilogy that was illustrated perfectly by Edward Gorey.
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5: No Cigar....
A bit boring, ho hum! Of the children I gave this to they would read a while and then find other things to do and then read a little more later. I read it - not enough to hold interest for any period of time and the artwork is strange - more adult. Give it to your child to read in between waiting for the good books to arrive. Okay, but!
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