Card-Carrying Villain: The Duke is evil and relishes it, saying that being wicked is only one of his little flaws.

Now she can only cry when she laughs, and those only last 14 days before turning to tears again. People have made Hagga cry so much, she's heard every possible sob story you could ever tell. This doesn't work out quite as well as hoped.

Blessed with Suck: Hagga's tears turn into jewels.The story is a favorite of Neil Gaiman, who wrote the introduction to the current edition and narrated a short animated film of the first chapter (which can be viewed here. Thurber also wrote three more tales in the same vein, Many Moons, The White Deer and The Wonderful O. And containing the Golux - the only Golux in the world and not a mere device. A modern Fairy Tale, recounting the tale of the evil duke who thinks he killed time, in whose castle the 13 clocks never move, and the impossible tasks he sets to those who would marry his niece, the princess.įull of whimsy and word play. The 13 Clocks is a fantasy novel by James Thurber.

Tired: Might not be the 'best book in the world' but it's certainly not bad.'We all have flaws,' said, 'and mine is being wicked.' Wired: A story you'll love to read out loud not too long so even little kids can enjoy it. I do think it's an excellent tale well-told, unlike much of what you've seen, and I'll enjoy reading it out loud to my kids again.īoth The 13 Clocks and The Wonderful O (which is also silly and quite fun) are available on Amazon.

The language is flowery and whimsical, and Thurber is fond of throwing in words that aren't real but sound like they might be.ĭo I think the book is 'the best in the world'? Well, no, but I'm not the sort of person who makes such sweeping pronouncements. My daughter absolutely loved it, even if (as I suspect) she didn't really understand some of what was going on. It's not a lengthy book-only eight chapters, just about the right length for reading at bedtime. Oh, and there's a woman who weeps jewels, an invisible spy, and 'something very much like nothing anyone had seen before.' And, of course, as in a fairy tale, the good guys win, the Prince rescues the Princess, and the evil Duke gets what he deserves but the true joy of the story is in the telling, and finding out how it happens. The story of The 13 Clocks is sort of a fairy-tale-ish one, with a Prince in disguise, an evil Duke with his Princess niece, an extraordinary character called the Golux, and a terrifying 'blob of glup' called a Todal.

The 13 Clocks by James Thurber