I really like some of Philip Pullman's works. This one was fine but definitely for the younger audience. It was an amusing and short moralistic tale. I was glad it was short. ( )

A delightful spooky tale. ( )

2.5/5

Really strong premise, but something lacking.

The beginning was very well done, and things did fall into place after getting wound up, but not so well.

Just okay

update: i still wish the story was less boring but the symbolism of the clockwork is something that i can’t stop chewing on ( )

This was a quick purchase from a daily deal on Audible again, picked up because I recognized Pullman's name on it. I found this to be beautiful and archaic. There focus on time, clocks, and winding was lovely and here throughout the whole piece. I loved how the story was both being told and being lived, and how they collided, and how the ending was more of a door still swinging in the wind than one that was left open or closed entirely.

Bravi. ( )

I reread this this afternoon, because I simply wanted to lose myself in a story for a couple of hours. Rereading is always a delight because a story is never twice the same. Even so, I couldn't quite switch off the analytical bit of my brain. Previously, I'd not noticed how spectacularly well this story is constructed. Structure, pace, and interest are hard to fault. It's a fairy tale, so characters are there to perform their role, not to be developed. Even so, Pullman carefully constructs sympathy towards two characters who are still standing at the end – you can't really call them protagonists; that's not how it works.

I also hadn't noticed how the tale is a warning to storytellers. And this is because, since my last reading, I've read Pullman's, Daemon Voices. The warning is to rehearse your story and know your ending. Fritz didn't. And look what happened!

( )