The Big Clock

I just thought this was the most fun little book. The last line was not missing. I'm not sure what that reviewer was talking about.The book was suspenseful but also light and funny. The book has a happy ending, but I wouldn't say it was pat. The protagonist is both clever and lucky.I suppose the book was somewhat predictable, but if you read it you'll see that isn't really a bad thing in this case. In fact it would be rather strange if it weren't predictable, given the circumstances. I guess some people wish the protagonist had to pay for his crimes, but this is noir, the gray world.

This was a short waste of time. It is mainly meant to satirize big city news organizations. And instead of generating suspense it only generates mild curiosity as to how things will turn out. And the first 30 pages are meant to establish the main character as a decent family man that the reader will care about but they only succeed in generating bewilderment as to why it's taking so long to get to the real substance of the story. I had had a fairly high regard for the books published by NYRB but after this and the Anna Kavan one I'm beginning to wonder. I guess the criterion for selection is that they be quirky little oddball things. Another criterion seems to be that they be about NY or Europe or eastern Europe or Russia.There's also a silly little critique of capitalism woven through the story the gist of which is that betrayal is fundamental to capitalism.The introduction works hard to convince that the book has substance and resonance but fails. It's a pity that the author had such a hard life. "There are eight million stories in the naked city..."

Kenneth Fearing’s The Big Clock is an atypical noir that puts us square inside of the big corporation, in this case Janeth Enterprises, run by the big man, Earl Janeth. George Stroud, an editor of Crimeways, is a mechanism to this daily grind, often referred to as the “big clock.”Trouble finds George after his night out with Pauline, one of the girls who works at Janeth Enterprises. When Pauline winds up dead, things really get complicated for George, especially since Pauline was Earl’s girlfriend.There are two major conflicts and predicaments that keep The Big Clock running from start to finish. One is that George himself could be implicated in the murder, so he is trying to save his own skin. The second delimma involves bringing forth the real murderer. And these two objectives have a deadline, so it is a race to see this through.One effective aspect to The Big Clock is the author’s methods. Fearing weaves an effective noir that breaks into other genres and modes. While this is an exceptional mystery, it is also a superb psychological thriller that builds with suspense as we get closer to a George’s ultimate dilemma. Fearing’s technique of constantly shifting narrative point of view with different characters narrating also adds dimension to vantage points of the plot. Tension builds, and then keeps building. And this is what pulls us in to the book’s final conclusion. There are really times when it seems as though Fearing has written himself into a corner, but he is masterful towards the end.In another sense, the “big clock” comes to symbolize not only the essence of time against the corporate grind, but the individual being pulled in into an escapable, fateful path that comes in the way of inevitable mortality. George, early in the novel, reflects on this:“Time.One runs like a mouse up the old, slow pendulum the big clock, time, surries around and across its huge hands, strays inside through the intricate wheels and balances and springs of the inner mechanisms, searching among the cobwebbed mazes of this machine with all its false exits and dangerous blind alleys…”The Big Clock is an effective change of pace for noir, one that enthusiasts for this genre should check out.

This rating (one star) is not a critique of the book itself. I've read The Big Clock before, it's a great book. Confusing at first but once it gets going it's a real page turner.My rating is strictly a commentary of the Kindle edition of this book which no one should purchase. The final reveal of the book, a vital part of the finale, is missing. It's just not there.I don't recommend this book on kindle to anyone. If you can find a different copy then definitely give it a try.

George Stroud works in an advertising agency cum publishing house in post-War New York. In todays terms we would call him and his colleagues investigative journalists or even paparazzi. George is also quite a sleazeball. He is a womaniser, adulterer, self-obsessed to the point his boss describes him as having 'colossal vanity'. His excuse for a weekend cheating on his wife is, 'I had one of those moods'.By a cute story twist from Mr Fearing he is set up to investigate a murder where he knows he will 'discover' that he is the patsy. At first sight I struggled to believe such a story could be credible but all credit to the author that this trick is successful.Although the trick works, I cannot say the same for Mr Fearing's style. A multi-narrator tool is used but to little effect as I struggled to tell the difference between the voices; what was the point of this method? 'The Big Clock' is used as a clunking metaphor for the march of time. This is a shortish read that can be done in one sitting, yet even so the first 40-50 pages could do with a kick up the backside.He did convey a seedy feel to George and his world. I was taken aback by the 1940's description of his bisexual girl friend as 'a part-time Liz'! Also was Mr Fearing short of proper names; George is married to Georgette and they have a daughter Georgia.Worth reading for the curiosity of the storyline but fairly low down on the crime thriller food-chain.