How can anyone describe this book? It isn't a parable, a fairy story or a poem, but rather a mixture of all three. It is beautiful and it is comic. It is philosophical and it is cheery. What we suppose we are trying fumblingly to say is, in a word, that it is Thurber.
There are only a few reasons why everybody has always wanted to read this kind of story, but they are basic:
Everybody has always wanted to love a Princess.
Everybody has always wanted to be a Prince.
Everybody has always wanted the wicked Duke to be punished.
Everybody has always wanted to live happily ever after.
Too little of this kind of thing is going on in the world today. But all of it is going on valorously in The 13 Clocks.
This book . . . is probably the best book in the world. And if it s not the best book, then it s still very much like nothing anyone has ever seen before, and, to the best of my knowledge, no one s ever really seen anything like it since. . . . It s unique. It makes people happier, like ice cream.
Neil Gaiman, from the Introduction One of the cleverest [fairy tales] that any modern writer has been able to tell.
Time Rich with ogres and oligarchs, riddles and wit. What distinguishes [
The 13 Clocks] is not just quixotic imagination but Thurber s inimitable delight in language. . . . Thurber captivates the ear and captures the heart.
Newsweek There are spys, monsters, betrayals, hair s-breadth escapes, spells to be broken and all the usual accouterments, but Thurber gives the proceedings his own particular deadpan spin. . . . It all makes for a rousing concoction of adventure, humor and satire that defies any conventional classification.
Los Angeles Times The great
New Yorkerhumorist James Thurber wrote a few children s books, the best of which may be
The 13 Clocks. . . . [Marc Simont] provided beautifully cartoonish yet subtle mini-paintings that convey
Clocks varying moods of gloom, menace, surprise, and joy.
Entertainment Weekly If you liked
The Princess Bride, you re going to like this. . . . If you remember
Fractured Fairy Taleson Rocky and Bullwinkle, you ll like this. We suggest, read the beginning. We re not going to give away the plot, because it s all in the language with a book like this.
Daniel Pinkwater, NPR sWeekend Edition Saturday"
"This book . . . is probably the best book in the world. And if it's not the best book, then it's still very much like nothing anyone has ever seen before, and, to the best of my knowledge, no one's ever really seen anything like it since. . . . It's unique. It makes people happier, like ice cream." --
Neil Gaiman, from the Introduction "One of the cleverest [fairy tales] that any modern writer has been able to tell." --
Time "Rich with ogres and oligarchs, riddles and wit. What distinguishes [
The 13 Clocks] is not just quixotic imagination but Thurber's inimitable delight in language. . . . Thurber captivates the ear and captures the heart." --
Newsweek "There are spys, monsters, betrayals, hair's-breadth escapes, spells to be broken and all the usual accouterments, but Thurber gives the proceedings his own particular deadpan spin. . . . It all makes for a rousing concoction of adventure, humor and satire that defies any conventional classification." --
Los Angeles Times "The great
New Yorker humorist James Thurber wrote a few children's books, the best of which may be
The 13 Clocks . . . . [Marc Simont] provided beautifully cartoonish yet subtle mini-paintings that convey
Clocks' varying moods of gloom, menace, surprise, and joy." --
Entertainment Weekly "One of [Thurber's] best but overlooked works . . . A raucous play of words that sounds like poetry, reads like prose, and narrowly skirts the line between the ridiculous and the profound." --
World Magazine "If you liked
The Princess Bride, you're going to like this. . . . If you remember
Fractured Fairy Tales on Rocky and Bullwinkle, you'll like this. We suggest, read the beginning. We're not going to give away the plot, because it's all in the language with a book like this." --
Daniel Pinkwater, NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday
