The House With A Clock In It's Walls

A little departure from our normally scheduled broadcasting, but while recently donating 90% of my books to GotBooks, I came across my copy of this book and decided to re-read it. Let me just start by saying that when I first read this book, when I was 9 or so, it completely changed my world view. It also has the distinction of being published in '72/'73, so it ages right along with me.

Without turning this into a book report, let me say the book is about an 'outsider' boy fighting the machinations of an evil and deceased wizard, along with the help of his uncle and his neighbor - one a wizard, the other a witch. Good triumphs over evil and all that, the end. What really resonated with me was the setting so brought to life by Bellairs. The book takes place in '42, in a small town in Wisconsin, which is 'eclectic' to say the least. Old houses, old cemeteries, drooping trees, very Gothic. A setting very reminiscent of Dunbarton, where I grew up.

The house in question is a rambling mansion, filled with disused rooms, odd staircases and whatnots. Again, I was immediately drawn to the house, as it reminded me of my grandmother's house, a stately place in extremely rural northern NH, surrounded by 300+ acres. The place even had it's own name 'Westridge'!

My places and the books places meshed so perfectly that I remember reading the book and (almost) thinking it could happen to me! My brother and I would often prowl the abandoned cemeteries of Dunbarton, just exploring, and we both would think of spooks and scary things to frighten each other with.

In addition to the charm of the prose, ths book is illustrated by none other than Edward Gorey. His pen and ink gave the story a whole other dimension, and started a life long love affair with his work.

The book holds up quite well, although I have a hard time imagining modern 'tweens' getting half the references in it. A+