Scan barcode
owltype's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Overall Master Humphrey's Clock was just okay--I enjoyed the from the Clock itself and would like to have seen some of them be continued as their own stories--but I'm glad it was a short novel because, though I sympathized and empathized with him, I felt bogged down by some of Humphrey's musings.
gilljames's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Though as ever Charles Dickens creates interesting characters, there seem to me to be no central premise to this tale. Rather it is a vehicle for Dickens to try out several writing techniques and tinker with some sub-plots. Nevertheless there are a couple of touching moments: when Master Humphrey is accepted despite thought he seems strange to the people around him and when he imagines the family that might have been.
ecca's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
june_englit_phd's review against another edition
4.0
If you are able to get your hands on a copy of this lesser-known tale by Charles Dickens, I would urge you to. It's a short story made up of short stories, quite Don Quixote-ish in that respect, which (when it was published originally) included part of Dickens' better-known novels "The Old Curiosity Shop" (which then became a novel in its own right) and "Barnaby Rudge".
Master Humphrey is a lonely, crippled elderly man who lives alone. After having bought a so-called "haunted house" and having had rumours about his "strangeness" spread about him by his neighbours, he eventually gets accepted into the area, and starts "collecting" friends, with whom to converse or share stories with. His best "friend" is his clock which recalls to him memories of his childhood.
The friends he makes are diverse - the "deaf man" (we never know his name) who provided entertainment with his story about the talking giants in the theatre, that related the tragic story of Hugh Graham. Master Humphrey also makes friends with Jack Redburn (a general entertainer) and Mr Owen Miles, a retired rich merchant. The four of them meet between 10pm and 2am every week at Master Humphrey's house, round the table - at the top of which sits the clock. They then decide to call their group "Master Humphrey's Clock". The articles for the evening's entertainment are kept in the clock case, and are brought out every meeting for discussion or reading aloud. These include tales of child murder and a comic one about witch-hunting.
There are still two vacant chairs at this table, and during the course of the story we find that Mr Pickwick (he of The Pickwick Papers) occupies one, and he recommends that a Mr Bamber occupies the last one.
In Mr Pickwick's charge are the Wellers - Tony and his son Sam. They call round to visit Master Humphreys when Pickwick is there at his "Clock" meeting. The Wellers are beholden to stay downstairs during the meeting, where the housemaid and the barber entertain them. They decide to set up their own group, calling it "Mr Weller's Watch". The stories they relate within their quartet are of the comic variety.
The story ends from the pen of the "deaf man", and it is particularly poignant.
It's a nice short little read, not hard to follow as some as Dickens' stories can be. A little gem amongst Dickens' less famous works.
Master Humphrey is a lonely, crippled elderly man who lives alone. After having bought a so-called "haunted house" and having had rumours about his "strangeness" spread about him by his neighbours, he eventually gets accepted into the area, and starts "collecting" friends, with whom to converse or share stories with. His best "friend" is his clock which recalls to him memories of his childhood.
The friends he makes are diverse - the "deaf man" (we never know his name) who provided entertainment with his story about the talking giants in the theatre, that related the tragic story of Hugh Graham. Master Humphrey also makes friends with Jack Redburn (a general entertainer) and Mr Owen Miles, a retired rich merchant. The four of them meet between 10pm and 2am every week at Master Humphrey's house, round the table - at the top of which sits the clock. They then decide to call their group "Master Humphrey's Clock". The articles for the evening's entertainment are kept in the clock case, and are brought out every meeting for discussion or reading aloud. These include tales of child murder and a comic one about witch-hunting.
There are still two vacant chairs at this table, and during the course of the story we find that Mr Pickwick (he of The Pickwick Papers) occupies one, and he recommends that a Mr Bamber occupies the last one.
In Mr Pickwick's charge are the Wellers - Tony and his son Sam. They call round to visit Master Humphreys when Pickwick is there at his "Clock" meeting. The Wellers are beholden to stay downstairs during the meeting, where the housemaid and the barber entertain them. They decide to set up their own group, calling it "Mr Weller's Watch". The stories they relate within their quartet are of the comic variety.
The story ends from the pen of the "deaf man", and it is particularly poignant.
It's a nice short little read, not hard to follow as some as Dickens' stories can be. A little gem amongst Dickens' less famous works.
More...