A review by caitie711
The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing

4.0

Read this first in grad school and decided to read it again while clearing out some bookshelves.

Bearing in mind the time period (casual racism and misogyny buffers on), Fearing wrote a solid little novel. Pacing was great--I got swept in gradually and then couldn't put it down. I remember that happening the first time, too, even as I tried to make sure I didn't miss little details that might help out in class discussions. I appreciated the realism, the humor, and the little twists that kept things ticking along. It raced to the end, and I kept catching myself rooting for people who were only marginally less bad than others, which is always a fun little trick of good storytelling.

It won't take you long, you'll get to enjoy Fearing's imagination, and you'll get to contemplate all the ways the machine grinds you down and spits you out before you move on to another book.