The first of Bellairs’ juvenalia, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is also among his very best. From the start you sympathize with orphaned, chubby Lewis, and are fascinated and entertained by Uncle Jonathan and Mrs Zimmerman, and the world of magic and illusion they unveil. Bellairs populates his world with believable and very human characters, and adds inventive comical flourishes that give it a depth and interest many adult gothics lack; Isaac and Selenna Izard are disturbing and creepy villains without even being present through most of the action, while Lewis has very few heroic qualities, being chubby, non-athletic, and timid. Bellairs’ taste for the absurd is strong, manifesting in both tiny bits of background and broad jokes, and his creation of eerie atmosphere superb. The pace is relentless; I stayed up til my eyes were closing on their own, then finished it first thing upon waking up–and I was re-reading it!
This is probably my favorite of Bellairs’ books, and one I strongly recommend as a starting point. Bellairs never patronizes his audience, and Edward Gorey’s illustrations are a perfect match for Bellairs’ suspense, spookiness, and whimsy.
This is my all-time favorite Bellairs cover, and an all over good cover to boot. It’s eerie and conveys the book’s atmosphere, and it’s got a bitchin’ psychedelic look. I would frame this and hang it in my library.
the stacks my destination
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