Definitely weird, but I liked it.

A few weeks ago, I watched Jack and the Cuckoo-clock Heart on Netflix and enjoyed it. I then downloaded the corresponding album by Dionysos and fell in love. So of course I had to track down a copy of the book to make my obsession complete.

Overall, it was a good read. A weird one, but a good one.

The writing is beautiful. Malzieu really creates some magnificent images. I loved his descriptions. They are lovely and grotesque all rolled into one. The book is written in a kind of steampunk-y, Tim Burton-esque way that works well. I liked all the weirdness of the Ghost Train, the historical people that popped up, and of course the concept of a clockwork heart.

Plot-wise, the book was interesting enough. It was fascinating to be along for the ride on Jack’s strange adventure. But by the end, I was a bit tired of Jack’s love quest. I will say, I much preferred the movie ending to the book ending. The book ending makes everything seem pretty pointless. It is obvious why the ending was changed for the movie.

Other than that, the movie sticks pretty closely to the book. Besides the sex. There is lots of sex stuff, which is much more subtle in the movie.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The story itself was good and the characters were interesting. But the main reason I liked this book so much was the language used. The writing is simply beautiful. So unique and fantastic. Great imagery.