Starred
Review. Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final
thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New
England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and
on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of
an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the
father's epilepsy and the cold halo of chemical electricity that
encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure are
stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George
returns to more melancholy scenes. The real star is Harding's language,
which dazzles whether he's describing the workings of clocks, sensory
images of nature, the many engaging side characters who populate the
book, or even a short passage on how to build a bird nest. This is an
especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship. (Jan.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
