Eden’s Clock (The American Novels)
Clockmaker Frederick Heigold is adrift after his beloved wife’s unexpected death. When a letter arrives hiring him to repair the clock on San Francisco’s Union Depot, with all his travel from upstate New York paid for, Frederick takes the chance. But what should be a simple train trip across the country becomes an odyssey, as misadventure and misfortune dog each step of the way. Frederick, however, is sanguine as he pulls himself out of each sticky situation and he finds the good in turn-of-the-century America along the way. When he arrives at San Francisco, he finds himself at a bar next to Jack London and longs to tell the eminent author his story, but mute after an injury at the Battle of Manassas Gap, he cannot. Instead, he writes his unspoken story to London through the pages of this novel.
Eden’s Clock is the twelfth and final installment in Lock’s ambitious The American Novels series, novels that span the 19th century and present American history through the styles of different American writers. This novel, set at the turn of the 20th century, is an homage to Jack London. I am perhaps not the best reader to appreciate Lock’s work in channeling Jack London, as I am not familiar with London’s writing, but I recognize Lock’s skill in crafting an adventure novel that would be at home on shelves a century ago. By peppering his narrative with contemporary references and turns-of-phrase evocative of the early twentieth century, Lock succeeds in bringing the era to life. Most delightful are the little vignettes of America and Americans through Frederick’s eyes. Read on its own merits, outside of Lock’s pastiche, the novel can feel slow and meandering. But if you enjoy early 20th-century writing, you will be delighted with this novel.
