This award-winning tale of individual rights and freedom is as fresh and valid today as when Ellison first penned the words in 1965. The generous s...
read full description
reviews
Mar 30, 2009
Read the STOP SMILING article about Harlan Ellison:
Bless the Knowledge, Curse the Lesson: Harlan Ellison and Counsel Fight the Good Fight
By Michael Helke
When the band Metallica filed suit against Napster for providing its subscribers with access to copyright-protected music, everybody scoffed. When Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield rolled onto Napster property like a couple Caesars crossing the Rubicon, clutching a stack of names of users who downloaded the band's mu More...
Bless the Knowledge, Curse the Lesson: Harlan Ellison and Counsel Fight the Good Fight
By Michael Helke
When the band Metallica filed suit against Napster for providing its subscribers with access to copyright-protected music, everybody scoffed. When Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield rolled onto Napster property like a couple Caesars crossing the Rubicon, clutching a stack of names of users who downloaded the band's mu More...
Dec 09, 2011
Eric
rated it: 
I hunted this down after learning the Justin Timberlake sci-fi movie In Time was loosely based on this short story.
Two quick points before my review of the short story:
1) After reading this and seeing the trailer to In Time, I can't see how they are related at all, other than that their themes both involve the concept of time as it is related to people. It seems to be a stretch, but hey, whatever.
2) I say "I hunted this down" because this book is More...
Two quick points before my review of the short story:
1) After reading this and seeing the trailer to In Time, I can't see how they are related at all, other than that their themes both involve the concept of time as it is related to people. It seems to be a stretch, but hey, whatever.
2) I say "I hunted this down" because this book is More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Aug 06, 2010
Nafiza
rated it: 
I can read this once. And then countless times. And every time I do, it offers me something more, something different. It's an eccentric story, no less terrifying for it's rather interesting characters. A world where people are simply turned "off" when their time finishes - terrifying, right? The Ticktockman, if you haven't guessed already, is the one who does the turning off. Now Harlequin is the rebel character - only, he is a rebel with a cause. He spreads chaos (and jellybeans) and
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 23, 2011
Lisa
rated it: 
I read this book after hearing about an author challenging the movie In Time that comes out next week starring Justin Timberlake. The movie is about people only living until the age of 25, and for any time after that they work to earn it. Living until 25 though, means that you don't age past that. You pretty much look that age as long as you have time. You get paid in time, you pay for things in time. It looks like a really interesting movie.
I can see how the idea could have come fr More...
I can see how the idea could have come fr More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 18, 2008
Popvoid
rated it:
There are stories that everyone should read; this is one of them.
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 30, 2009
Randy
rated it: 
In a world where time is accutely measured and all are slaves to the clock, one guy rebels. This guy, the Harlequin, gums up the works with jelly beans. Then doesn't arrive on time for his appointments. In a world concerned with being on time, he dares to be...tardy? I can relate to that. If I lived in a world where some TickTock Man took minutes of my life away everytime I was late...I'd've been dead 20 years ago. Go Harlequin!
However, Ellison is terribly imaginative, but I More...
However, Ellison is terribly imaginative, but I More...
Jan 12, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
One of the strangest original books ive ever come across centering about everyone's obsession with time and punctuality. I read this while I was studying animation in 2005 and wondered why it hadnt already been turned into a short.
Its a very short read but you'll remeber it for years to come, its like that strange dream you had that pops into your head every now and then.
Its a very short read but you'll remeber it for years to come, its like that strange dream you had that pops into your head every now and then.
Jan 21, 2010
Nicholas
rated it:
For me, this is really the ultimate in distopian stories. Ellison is the only author I've ever read that can write a two-page story and have you feeling for the main character. The characters in this aren't AS developed as many of his often are but there is so much more going on that it doesn't even matter.
This is a short-story, which means I hold it to different standards than a novel. This is beautifully written and poetic, as the title might suggest. The beauty of the words blen More...
This is a short-story, which means I hold it to different standards than a novel. This is beautifully written and poetic, as the title might suggest. The beauty of the words blen More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Nov 27, 2009
Nathan
rated it:
My favouritest favourite short story ever! It's delightfully funny, yet scathingly satirical, all at once. It provides a still-relevant glimpse at a future dystopian society fixated on bureaucracy and punctuality. Also, I love Ellison's intentional butchering of English grammatical structures.
Apr 16, 2010
Sera
rated it:
I haven't read this edition, but I first read this story back in high school and loved it. It is great to teach because although it is a rather simple story, it is told in a way that confuses the students, so they have to think to figure out what is happening.
Dec 23, 2009
Somehow a very sixties piece, about the man who dares to subvert the conformity of society through practical jokes; and although he loses the battle, there is a sense at the end that he might yet have won the war
Sep 17, 2011
Algernon
rated it:
there is no excuse for not reading this : short and clear and important, proof that a good writer doesn't need hundreds of pages to get the message across.
What's it about? Life, and how to live it ...
What's it about? Life, and how to live it ...
Sep 03, 2009
Jgarner
rated it:
My all time favorite short story. A story that will make you think about time and how we are victims to it. It's been years since I read it but it always stays with me.
Sep 07, 2009
Heather
rated it:
OH MY GODDESS I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!! My husband gave me a copy of this when we first started dating... yeah, I made the right choice.
Jan 06, 2009
Greg
rated it:
Certainly my favorite short story of all time, written by the greatest living American short-story writer. Ellison is masterful.
Oct 09, 2011
Kelly
rated it:
So true to life with today's culture, as far as conformity goes, being a slave to THE MAN, wiling way precious hours in a cubicle, keeping up with those damn Joneses. Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman is a great read, albeit way too short for even a short story.
Jul 28, 2011
Quilltips
rated it:
Very good, very good. Succinct, eccentric, and with an ending that rather pleased me.
Oct 13, 2008
Joanne
rated it:
I read this story in 1972. It was given to me by the teacher that shaped my entire future as a Sci-Fi fan, Mr. Magorno. I fell in love with the genre and with Harlan Ellison. It is a story that will make you think. You should consider all the implications of actions past and future. 36 years later it is still one of my favorite stories.
Mar 28, 2011
Very good story of a dystopia (spelling? too lazy to look it up, dear me!). In our present culture of hurry, we should all know this story. Funny but awful. Little short of brilliant.
Jessica
Jessica
Oct 24, 2008
Eric
rated it:
This is my #1 favorite short story of all time. It's my favorite because of the writing style. If Ellison had written in this style about cow udders it would still be my #1 favorite.
"Repent, Harlequin" can also be found in lots of compilations and probably online.
"Repent, Harlequin" can also be found in lots of compilations and probably online.
Aug 08, 2007
Bill
rated it:
The classic Ellison story in a beautiful, illustrated volume. The story is a must-read and is quite fun. It has been published in many textbooks as well as best-of anthologies. It's a story that I love whole-heartedly and recommend it to everyone.
Jul 18, 2008
Cedar
rated it:
I wrote a literary comparison between this story and Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut when I was in high school. Sorry Kurt, this story kicked your ass.
An ode and primer for any revolutionary-in-the-making.
An ode and primer for any revolutionary-in-the-making.
Nov 17, 2007
Janet
rated it:
It really was the golden age of sci fi, wasn't it? Ellison was so clearly excited about the innovative possibilities of the genre. I love the way the odd writing style reflects and deepens the story.
Aug 12, 2010
Atrackbrown
rated it:
It is, of course, a well-written story. I mean, Harlan Ellison wrote it. Against many of his others, though, I find it less resonant.
Aug 21, 2009
.50spiderbite
rated it:
This is one of my favorites, probably because it's Ellison's most derivative work and is still completely great.
Oct 01, 2007
Jen
rated it:
This was one of the first presents my husband ever gave me. A brilliant treatise on revolution as basic acts.
