Book Review / "The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk" by Ellen Khodakivska

The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk by Ellen Khodakivska

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“It flows away silently, deceitfully slowly, and masterfully quickly.”

Time. Invisible but incredibly powerful. Unyielding to people’s demands but generous when treated with respect.

If given a chance to teach others about the mysteries of time, what price would you be ready to pay? Several generations of the Donelli family enjoy the gift of knowing more about time than anyone else. Alas, they also feel the depth of the curse that comes in a package with such profound knowledge.

Set in the charming Italian city of Campobasso, “The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk” by Ellen Khodakivska is a story of watchmakers who knew more about time than how to fix any type of clock. By engraving the initials DD, they not only gave a clock a chance to keep ticking away for more years, but they also could change the life of the clock’s owner. For some, these changes were for the better. While for others, they were fatal.

And when the time balance tipped, the Gift and the Curse stopped their never-ending dialogue and one of them made the decision to reward or punish the watchmaker.

Every Donelli knew the story of how the men of their family happened to be carrying the gift and the curse of time. Back in 1890, Doriano Donelli met a mysterious woman, whose claims about giving him the gift of understanding the time better than any other person in the world he only partially believed. Still, an ardent watchmaker, who had to work the other job his heart wasn’t into so he could continue repairing clocks, couldn’t resist the temptation of the offer. And so, Doriano had sealed his family’s fate for more than a century. Since he had changed the life of the person who brought him their clock to fix it for the first time, the men in his family kept on the tradition and learnt the watchmaking craft. The consequences of Doriano’s decision were both beautiful and devastating.

Full of heart-warming and also tragic moments, this book will tug at your heartstrings and put a smile on your face. A wonderful read.




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The Watchmaker: A Clock Can Talk