the House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs

[Rachel]

Canavan and I are going to start reading The House with a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs.

The movie, made by Eli Roth and starring Jack Black, is coming out late this year. Please join us if you are interested!


Orphaned Lewis Barnavelt comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan and quickly learns that both his uncle and his next-door neighbor are witches on a quest to discover the terrifying clock ticking within the walls of Jonathan's house. Can the three of them save the world from certain destruction?

[Lisa]

I just love this book! The characters and settings are so memorable. The Letter, The Witch, and The Ring, too. Some of my favorites as a kid. I sure hope the movie does it justice.

[Rachel]

Awesome!!! Glad to hear that you enjoyed it!

I haven't started it yet Canavan. I will tonight.

[Latasha]

if it's not too late when the library stops being hussies, i'll join in.

[Rachel]

Latasha wrote: "if it's not too late when the library stops being hussies, i'll join it."

YAY!

[Tyler]

I just read this book earlier this month, because it's the book RichardMediaGeek had chosen for John Bellair's month, it's his birthday month and he loves John Bellair's books. I hadn't read any of his books before so it's the first one I picked up. I really enjoyed it!

Sorry I just read it earlier this month...but i'll take a peek and see how others here feel about it. And since I didn't read it that long ago I should still be able to remember it :)

[Feli]

If it's okay I would like to join. Haven't read (or heard) anything by Bellair and I think this could bei a nice in-between-read for me. It sound's interesting :)

[Rachel]

Definitely okay for you to join in!!!

You too, Stephanie! I'm glad you liked it.

Looking forward to reading what everyone thinks!!!

[Feli]

Rachel wrote: "Definitely okay for you to join in!!!

You too, Stephanie! I'm glad you liked it.

Looking forward to reading what everyone thinks!!!"

Great! I got my copy today and will start it later today or tomorrow :)

[Feli]

Anyone started yet?

I'm on page 80 something and it's fun so far. Jonathan and Ms Zimmermann always make me laugh :)

[Canavan]

I cracked this book open yesterday. I’ll try and weigh in with some initial thoughts in the next day or two.

[Rachel]

I started, and am on page 63. (I believe it's the beginning of chapter 3)

Wow, I really like it so far. I wish I had read it as a child.

[Rachel]

I'l put this under a spoiler in case you haven't reached it yet (view spoiler)[I liked that he struck up a friendship with Tarby, who seemed like a nice kid. But, after the uncle eclipsing the moon (LOVED that scene btw), it seems like Tarby is scared? I'm worried that what Tarby saw is going to lead more bullying/problems at school. (hide spoiler)] guess i'll have to see :)

[Feli]

Rachel wrote: "I started, and am on page 63. (I believe it's the beginning of chapter 3)

Wow, I really like it so far. I wish I had read it as a child."

Jep, me too. I would have loved it as a child.

[Feli]

According to your spoiler: (view spoiler)[I thought the same. Tarby going on distance again makes me sad for Lewis. But maybe he really is scared and maybe the people in town are already talking about Jonathan being a wizard and such things. So this could be a hard time for poor Lewis. (hide spoiler)]

[Latasha]

I finally got it! I'm going to read some tons gut until I fall asleep.

[Latasha]

The bell continued to toll. Lewis looked up. The sound was coming from a tall brick steeple across the street. The arches of the belfry made a howling mouth and two gaping eyes; below the mouth was a large, glowing clock face with iron numerals.

I love that bit! Creepy clock faces!

[Rachel]

Latasha wrote: "The bell continued to toll. Lewis looked up. The sound was coming from a tall brick steeple across the street. The arches of the belfry made a howling mouth and two gaping eyes; below the mouth was..."

I love that too!!!

Also, the illustrations in the book are wonderful.

[Rachel]

I'm about three-quarters of the way through now.

[Rachel]

im just gonna leave a bunch of comments on chapters lol.

chapter 4 -
(view spoiler)[ugh, i feel so bad for Lewis, and for how badly he wants to be liked and have Tarby as a friend. of course while reading this chapter i knew that whatever Lewis was gonna do to save his friendship was just going to make things worse.

the scene at the end of the chapter with Uncle Johnathan putting on the illusions of battles was pretty cool. i'm excited to see how this appears in the film version. (hide spoiler)]

chapter 5
(view spoiler)[oh lewis, what are you doing!!! this poor kid! when he had to run up the hill to meet Tarby and Tarby called him a fatsoe... i was so mad!
i thought the actual dead-raising scene was pretty cool. that's going to look fantastic on film. i have to admit to being pleased that tarby was so scared. but i predicted that tarby was going to be even less of a friend to lewis than he already was, and now lewis has a secret from his Uncle that's going to cause problems.
oh, the illustration of the tomb opening was really cool.
(hide spoiler)]

[Latasha]

Chapter 2
(view spoiler)[ issac izzard sure reminds me of the music or Eric Zann/ Zhann? By H. P Lovecraft
(hide spoiler)]

[Feli]

Latasha wrote: "Chapter 2
issac izzard sure reminds me of the music or Eric Zann/ Zhann? By H. P Lovecraft
"

Oh, yes. Now that you mention it I can see (hear ;-) ) that too.

I've finished the book some days ago but will wait till everyone's there. Still not sure how I feel about it.

[Latasha]

Lol yes, I’m seeing all kinds of influence here but that’s a good thing.

[Rachel]

I finished it too! i keep leaving my copy at home so i can't write up detailed comments about the chapters

[Latasha]

Omg! I want to see Uncle Jonathan's Historical Illusions! I would be so in love with that.

[Rachel]

Me too. All that stuff was really cool. For a second I wondered if they all were high lmao.

[Latasha]

Lol! I didn't think of that 😝

[Latasha]

I finished! I liked the story and wish they had been part of my childhood. I probably won’t read the others right now but someday. I’m glad I read this with y’all.

[Rachel]

One thing I thought was odd was (view spoiler)[at the end when he told his uncle that he already had a new friend? did i miss something? that seemed to have come out of nowhere lol (hide spoiler)]

another thing i thought was strange and maybe this is just reflective of the time in which it was written but the kid went alone all over the town!!! he was only 10!!! i wasn't allowed to leave my yard or maybe the block! LOL

[Latasha]

yeah that did come out of nowhere. I think it's reflective of the time it was written. we could roam around pretty freely but we- my sister & I- couldn't walk to town and we lived pretty close. this was in the 90's.

[Feli]

Rachel wrote: "One thing I thought was odd was [spoilers removed]

another thing i thought was strange and maybe this is just reflective of the time in which it was written but the kid went alone all over the tow..."

I thought the same thing about (view spoiler)[his new friend Rose.
Also, I thought it very odd that there seemed to be no consequences for him to playing around with necromancy. Jonathan was just like "Oh yeah, I was a kid too and you were curious, blah" but this was necromancy, at night, at a cemetery, in a mausoleum which was locked... it was also criminal behaviour ^^" (hide spoiler)]

Haha, I think that depends. I don't know about America, but here it is absolutely common in smaller towns for children to walk around on their own, especially in rural areas... no problem ;)

[Latasha]

yeah really! at least give him a stern talking to and make him aware of how dangerous it is.

[Feli]

Latasha wrote: "yeah that did come out of nowhere. I think it's reflective of the time it was written. we could roam around pretty freely but we- my sister & I- couldn't walk to town and we lived pretty close. thi..."

With ten I went to secondary school and since then (also 90s) me and most of my classmates were allowed to go to town, too. We had to go to school there (no school buses for secondary schools) and then there was no reason to forbid kids to go to town in smaller groups.

[Latasha]

Feli wrote: "Latasha wrote: "yeah that did come out of nowhere. I think it's reflective of the time it was written. we could roam around pretty freely but we- my sister & I- couldn't walk to town and we lived p..."

that sounds like it would've been fun.

[Kasia]

Never heard of this series before, glad I saw this in my feed :)

This cover is amazing haha.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c...

[Rachel]

Kasia wrote: "Never heard of this series before, glad I saw this in my feed :)

This cover is amazing haha.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c..."

OMG I need that lol

[Feli]

Kasia wrote: "Never heard of this series before, glad I saw this in my feed :)

This cover is amazing haha.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c..."

I loved the artwork in the complete book (especially the one in chapter 10 or 11 I think. That one was creepy!)
All other editions seem to be out of print, but I hope that with the movie there will be a new edition so I can read on.

[Kasia]

I have to read this now, I grew up on these kinds of stories. Just wondering if I should do the ebook or order physical copies, I just finished an audiobook and about to finish another novella and this looks like a good next read :)

[Latasha]

I did the ebook and it had the illustrations.

[Latasha]

The ebook had a different cover but I like them both.

[Kasia]

This was from the Omnibus which has books 1-3, but ebooks are so darn easy, no wait!

[Latasha]

My overdrive had it but I had to wait on it. Are there any still from the movie production yet?

[Canavan]

After a slow start I plowed through the last two-thirds of this YA book this morning. A few loosely organized thoughts follow. The book is an interesting mix of supernatural horror, childhood reminiscence, and humor. Bellair’s attempts to infuse the story with humor are (for me anyway) the least effective component of the three. More specifically, although I get what he’s trying to do, I found the repartee between Mrs. Zimmermann and Jonathan Barnavelt somewhat grating. If that relationship feels a bit false and underdeveloped, the one between Lewis and Tarby is much more real. I appreciated that the way in which this “friendship” evolved violated the initial expectations I formed when first introduced to Tarby. Lewis is supposedly based to some extent on the author’s life growing up in Marshall, Michigan, and it’s easy to speculate that Lewis’ tribulations are echoes of Bellairs’ own childhood experiences. Similarly, one assumes that New Zebedee is a stand-in for Marshall. Bellairs is good at supplying little details that make the town seem more real as in his description of railroad crossbuck sign.

As for the horror element of Clock: It works more often than not, although it takes a while to ramp up. A number of commentators talk about the heavy influence of M. R. James on Bellairs, but I’m not quite sure I see that. (view spoiler)[(Although the scene at the Izard mausoleum in which the lock drops off might reflect similar events in James’ “Count Magnus”.) (hide spoiler)] The story’s supernatural element is nicely enhanced by the Edward Gorey illustrations. (Drat! My Kindle edition lacked the original Gorey cover. I gather, as someone else here has already pointed out, that there aren’t any currently in print editions that sport the original cover art.) Gorey’s best illustration here is the one that (view spoiler)[accompanies the sequence in which our heroes are pursued by the car. For my money this is also the book’s creepiest episode. (hide spoiler)]

✭✭✭½

[Rachel]

YES! The car scene was very creepy!

[Canavan]

Latasha asked:

Are there any still from the movie production yet?

There is one on the IMDB site showing Jack Black (as Uncle Jonathan) and Cate Blanchette (Mrs. Zimmermann). Lewis is being played by Owen Vaccaro. Vaccaro doesn’t come remotely close to matching my conception of the character. He certainly doesn’t look overweight. Coupled with the fact that the admittedly incomplete cast list makes no mention of the Tarby character and one might be forgiven for suspecting that the film’s creative team has opted to ax those aspects of the book dealing with Lewis’ weight insecurities.

[Latasha]

thanks, I'm going to look.

[Rachel]

I actually think Cate isn't a good pick for Mrs. Zimmerman either, I pictured an older woman? and honestly the illustrations made her look homely...

[Canavan]

Rachel said:

I actually think Cate isn't a good pick for Mrs. Zimmerman either, I pictured an older woman?

Yes, I agree that John Bellairs’ Mrs. Zimmermann is certainly older than Blanchett. On the other hand, I like Blanchette’s acting and don’t think that Zimmermann’s age is a central or essential part of the character. I’m more concerned about the actor chosen to portray a Lewis and what that might portend for the script. And I don’t care for the director. (I always tell folks that they shouldn’t judge films prior to their release, but I do it myself all the the time. The stuff I’ve read thus far about this one isn’t making me want to rush out and see it.)