Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Ballantine Books (1946), Mass Market Paperback, 144 pages
Description
George Stroud is a hard-drinking, tough-talking, none-too-scrupulous writer for a New York media conglomerate that bears a striking resemblance to Time, Inc. in the heyday of Henry Luce. One day, before heading home to his wife in the suburbs, Stroud has a drink with Pauline, the beautiful girlfriend of his boss, Earl Janoth. Things happen. The next day, Stroud escorts Pauline home, leaving her off at the corner just as Janoth returns from a trip. The day after that, Pauline is found murdered in her apartment. Janoth knows there was one witness to his entry into Pauline's apartment on the night of the murder; he knows that man must have been the man Pauline was with before he got back; but he doesn't know who he was. Janoth badly wants to get his hands on that man, and he picks one of his most trusted employees to track him down: George Stroud. Who else?How does a man escape from himself? No book has ever dramatized that question to more perfect effect than The Big Clock, a masterpiece of American noir.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member datrappert
This is a cleverly plotted novel that holds your attention until the disappointing ending, when the author just seems to stop caring. While "The Big Clock" is better plotted than the other Fearing novel I have reviewed, "Dagger of the Mind", both suffer from a cast of characters who are almost
In any case, despite these weaknesses, everything hums along nicely and you wonder how the main character, George Stroud, is ever going to get out of his predicament. Either he winds up on somebody's hit list or he loses his marriage. Perhaps Fearing couldn't figure out a good ending either. He used impeccable logic to hem his character in with no escape - then he drops in a deus ex machina type ending that leaves far too many loose ends - such as whatever happened to the ongoing police investigation. Truly annoying - I'm tempted to go back and remove another half star....
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uniformly unlikable. Fearing delights in showing the quirks and weaknesses of his cast, and he does it in an ironic matter that lends an air of unreality to the whole proceedings, even though the flawed characters he depicts are much closer to reality than the cut and dried black or white characters usually found in noir fiction or pulp novels. He also goes in for stunts such as having the main character named "George", his wife named "Georgette" and their daughter being called "Georgia". As a result, neither book ever really affects you emotionally - they are written at a purely intellectual level, reflecting the type of cerebral person Fearing probably was. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the characters were modeled on people he knew.In any case, despite these weaknesses, everything hums along nicely and you wonder how the main character, George Stroud, is ever going to get out of his predicament. Either he winds up on somebody's hit list or he loses his marriage. Perhaps Fearing couldn't figure out a good ending either. He used impeccable logic to hem his character in with no escape - then he drops in a deus ex machina type ending that leaves far too many loose ends - such as whatever happened to the ongoing police investigation. Truly annoying - I'm tempted to go back and remove another half star....
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LibraryThing member irkthepurist
A little too clever for it's own good, and slightly disappointing at the end - I was hoping for something a bit more like John Franklin Bardin rather than what I did get - but this really is a corker on the whole. The main idea of the book is frankly brilliant and if nothing else Fearing really
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does up the tension *unbearably* during these scenes. Excellent stuff. Show Less
LibraryThing member SeriousGrace
The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing started out slow. George Stroud works for a conglomerate of magazines in their Crimeways department. He is a simple family man with a wife and daughter, but his dreams and ambitious are big. When he has an affair with his boss's girlfriend and she winds up
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bludgeoned to death things get a little tricky. It's a story of conspiracy and cat and mouse. George must prove his innocence when everything points to the contrary. Once it gets going it's fascinating! Show Less
LibraryThing member delphica
As advertised, this was very noir, a genre that I love because of the setting, and I love it even more when it's urban New York as this is ... but also a genre that I find confusing at heart because it's so sparse that I seriously have no clue what is going on half the time. Especially when the
I'm sure some of it is the distance between when it was written and now (I understand the basic concept of laundry marks, but I don't really believe they were as helpful in tracing people as literature would have you think), but it's truly more structural than that.
I read the introduction, because that often helps in situations like this, I don't mind going in knowing the basic framework of the plot. This one was a little harsh, though, from the intro you'd think this wasn't a very good book at all. A man witnesses a crime, and is then asked to investigate that crime ... only to realize that he is being framed for that crime. It's suspenseful and satisfying, and that part isn't too hard to follow.
The details of the crime also contain some allegations of homosexuality, but it was so innuendo-driven I never quite managed to figure out what elements the characters were reacting to. Unrelated, but another confusing point, the main character's wife has some very vague news about her doctor's advice, and I must have spent 15 minutes trying to figure out what I was missing.
Overall, though, a very quick and sharp read.
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characters are very taciturn, and exchange meaningful glances, or so help me, start sentences that trail off. I do not know what is happening, or what their glances are supposed to mean. It's an odd experience, novels like this, because I am enjoy them but it feels a bit like reading a book with missing pages. Maybe the missing pages are simply background, or maybe they contained a key plot twist. Could be either. I don't know.I'm sure some of it is the distance between when it was written and now (I understand the basic concept of laundry marks, but I don't really believe they were as helpful in tracing people as literature would have you think), but it's truly more structural than that.
I read the introduction, because that often helps in situations like this, I don't mind going in knowing the basic framework of the plot. This one was a little harsh, though, from the intro you'd think this wasn't a very good book at all. A man witnesses a crime, and is then asked to investigate that crime ... only to realize that he is being framed for that crime. It's suspenseful and satisfying, and that part isn't too hard to follow.
The details of the crime also contain some allegations of homosexuality, but it was so innuendo-driven I never quite managed to figure out what elements the characters were reacting to. Unrelated, but another confusing point, the main character's wife has some very vague news about her doctor's advice, and I must have spent 15 minutes trying to figure out what I was missing.
Overall, though, a very quick and sharp read.
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LibraryThing member nx74defiant
Each chapter is in 1st person view point of the person named in the chapter heading. It was a little confusing and seemed unlikely that George would be married to Georgette and have a daughter Georgia. The ending came out of nowhere.
LibraryThing member jameshold
I am seriously disappointed in this book since at no time during the narrative do we see either a big chicken or a well-endowed porn star. Why would you call your book THE BIG CO... Oh, wait. That's CLOCK, not... Um, okay. Never mind. My mistake.
Well then, starting over, it's not a bad story.
Well then, starting over, it's not a bad story.
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Although having seen the movie first I couldn't really picture the hero as anything like Ray Milland. Show Less
LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
A noir classic, The Big Clock by Kenneth Fearing was originally published in 1946. Set in New York, George Stroud works in publishing for a large conglomerate. He becomes involved with Pauline who is the mistress of his powerful boss, Earl Janoth. One night he leaves her at the corner near her
This story has been adapted for film a couple of times, once for a Ray Milland film and then again, loosely, in 1987 as the Kevin Costner thriller, “No Way Out". It is an ingenious plot, with many twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. The narration jumps from character to character, as George races to prove Janoth is the murderer before Janoth finds out about his tie to Pauline and silences him. Thrown into the mix is an eccentric artist who could also identify George as the man with Pauline on that fateful night.
This sounds exciting on paper but somehow I just wasn’t pulled into the story and I found a few things rather confusing. For example, the main character is called George, his wife was Georgette and his daughter was named Georgia, but at one point or another they all went by "George". Another thing that I found disconcerting was the number of different characters doing the narration of the story which meant the reader was being bombarded by a number of different viewpoints. Finally, none of the characters excited my interest so in the end I really didn’t care about the fate of any of them.
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apartment just as Janoth arrives. The next day, Pauline is found murdered. Janoth knows that someone was with Pauline and is a potential witness that can place him at the scene. To find this potential witness and “quiet” him, he arranges to have his staff track Pauline’s activities. George is put in charge of the investigation. This story has been adapted for film a couple of times, once for a Ray Milland film and then again, loosely, in 1987 as the Kevin Costner thriller, “No Way Out". It is an ingenious plot, with many twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes. The narration jumps from character to character, as George races to prove Janoth is the murderer before Janoth finds out about his tie to Pauline and silences him. Thrown into the mix is an eccentric artist who could also identify George as the man with Pauline on that fateful night.
This sounds exciting on paper but somehow I just wasn’t pulled into the story and I found a few things rather confusing. For example, the main character is called George, his wife was Georgette and his daughter was named Georgia, but at one point or another they all went by "George". Another thing that I found disconcerting was the number of different characters doing the narration of the story which meant the reader was being bombarded by a number of different viewpoints. Finally, none of the characters excited my interest so in the end I really didn’t care about the fate of any of them.
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LibraryThing member Iambookish
This book set in the NYC publishing world of the 1940's is classic noir fiction. A wonderfully complex book that touches on many themes and keeps you turning the pages faster and faster.
LibraryThing member encephalical
So close to being perfect, but something about the resolution didn't feel right.
LibraryThing member EricCostello
A surprising disappointment, given the reputations of both the book, and the film it was based on. The basic premise is that an employee of a great media empire is more or less assigned to find himself, in the context of a murder committed by his boss. The first third is rather slow, and the ending
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doesn't really work, as the employee/investigator gets off very easily. Only the middle third of the book, involving the investigation, is actually interesting. There's also a fair bit of stuff about endowed individuals, more or less folks getting a stipend, which may be tied to Fearing's politics (he was, at one point, a movie critic for the New Masses). Also a handful of references that needless to say the Hays Office didn't allow in the film. Not really recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
Racing the Clock of Life
The Big Clock is a different kind of murder/crime novel, but nonetheless dark and tawdry as American Noir should be. It’s different because the murder doesn’t come until well into the novel, and then really isn’t the focus of the suspenseful race against the clock. The
Outlined, the story begins with George grumbling to himself at a party thrown by his employer, Earl Janoth, chairman of Janoth Enterprises, an agglomeration of magazines. There he meets Pauline Delos, a magnetic blonde, who also happens to be seeing Janoth. Sometime later George and Pauline hookup, when George’s wife and daughter are safely out of town. The pair have a wild weekend in New York, where they buy a painting that proves a key clue in the tale, and upstate in Albany. At the end, he sees her home, but not to her door because Janoth is arriving at that precise moment. George holds back in the shadows, unrecognized. Next thing he knows, Pauline is dead and the most likely murderer is Janoth. In a twist, though, to protect himself, Janoth and his business partner concoct a tale about the mystery man, who is the only one who can place Janoth at Pauline’s apartment, with the objective of eliminating him. They sic the full resources of the publishing house on finding the man, and they put George in charge. George, faced with the task of ferreting out himself, has to continually throw his team of investigative reporters off his scent, until, at the end, they have pretty much closed in on him. It’s then that Fearing springs a surprise, the seed of which he has placed in plain view at the outset of the novel.
Readers will find two features of the novel particularly interesting. First, the clock of the title; it serves as both a sort of stopwatch counting down the hours and minutes until George finds himself exposed. It also functions as an overarching symbol of the relentless grind of life, it’s unalterable march to the fatal moment in every life. The second are the Louise Patterson paintings; one hanging in George’s office builds tension as we readers and George wait for somebody to identify it as a Patterson. Even more, though, George’s attachment to his Patterson paintings, and specifically the one from the antique shop, speak volumes about George’s character: his self-pride, his superior aesthetic eye, and his willingness to behave recklessly to preserve is purchase, which is really part and parcel of his identity.
You’ll find The Big Clock not only suspenseful but more sophisticated than the typical noir crime novel.
The Big Clock is a different kind of murder/crime novel, but nonetheless dark and tawdry as American Noir should be. It’s different because the murder doesn’t come until well into the novel, and then really isn’t the focus of the suspenseful race against the clock. The
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focus is George Stroud, an ambitious magazine writer/editor, a man who drinks hard and cheats on his wife, who thinks quite highly of himself, of his intelligence, and his appreciation of aesthetics, particularly when it comes to art. The plot is a finely honed chase story about an innocent man, at least innocent of murder, trying to save his life. Even more, it’s a keen psychological probing of a cunning mind, that of George Stroud.Outlined, the story begins with George grumbling to himself at a party thrown by his employer, Earl Janoth, chairman of Janoth Enterprises, an agglomeration of magazines. There he meets Pauline Delos, a magnetic blonde, who also happens to be seeing Janoth. Sometime later George and Pauline hookup, when George’s wife and daughter are safely out of town. The pair have a wild weekend in New York, where they buy a painting that proves a key clue in the tale, and upstate in Albany. At the end, he sees her home, but not to her door because Janoth is arriving at that precise moment. George holds back in the shadows, unrecognized. Next thing he knows, Pauline is dead and the most likely murderer is Janoth. In a twist, though, to protect himself, Janoth and his business partner concoct a tale about the mystery man, who is the only one who can place Janoth at Pauline’s apartment, with the objective of eliminating him. They sic the full resources of the publishing house on finding the man, and they put George in charge. George, faced with the task of ferreting out himself, has to continually throw his team of investigative reporters off his scent, until, at the end, they have pretty much closed in on him. It’s then that Fearing springs a surprise, the seed of which he has placed in plain view at the outset of the novel.
Readers will find two features of the novel particularly interesting. First, the clock of the title; it serves as both a sort of stopwatch counting down the hours and minutes until George finds himself exposed. It also functions as an overarching symbol of the relentless grind of life, it’s unalterable march to the fatal moment in every life. The second are the Louise Patterson paintings; one hanging in George’s office builds tension as we readers and George wait for somebody to identify it as a Patterson. Even more, though, George’s attachment to his Patterson paintings, and specifically the one from the antique shop, speak volumes about George’s character: his self-pride, his superior aesthetic eye, and his willingness to behave recklessly to preserve is purchase, which is really part and parcel of his identity.
You’ll find The Big Clock not only suspenseful but more sophisticated than the typical noir crime novel.
Show Less
LibraryThing member write-review
Racing the Clock of Life
The Big Clock is a different kind of murder/crime novel, but nonetheless dark and tawdry as American Noir should be. It’s different because the murder doesn’t come until well into the novel, and then really isn’t the focus of the suspenseful race against the clock. The
Outlined, the story begins with George grumbling to himself at a party thrown by his employer, Earl Janoth, chairman of Janoth Enterprises, an agglomeration of magazines. There he meets Pauline Delos, a magnetic blonde, who also happens to be seeing Janoth. Sometime later George and Pauline hookup, when George’s wife and daughter are safely out of town. The pair have a wild weekend in New York, where they buy a painting that proves a key clue in the tale, and upstate in Albany. At the end, he sees her home, but not to her door because Janoth is arriving at that precise moment. George holds back in the shadows, unrecognized. Next thing he knows, Pauline is dead and the most likely murderer is Janoth. In a twist, though, to protect himself, Janoth and his business partner concoct a tale about the mystery man, who is the only one who can place Janoth at Pauline’s apartment, with the objective of eliminating him. They sic the full resources of the publishing house on finding the man, and they put George in charge. George, faced with the task of ferreting out himself, has to continually throw his team of investigative reporters off his scent, until, at the end, they have pretty much closed in on him. It’s then that Fearing springs a surprise, the seed of which he has placed in plain view at the outset of the novel.
Readers will find two features of the novel particularly interesting. First, the clock of the title; it serves as both a sort of stopwatch counting down the hours and minutes until George finds himself exposed. It also functions as an overarching symbol of the relentless grind of life, it’s unalterable march to the fatal moment in every life. The second are the Louise Patterson paintings; one hanging in George’s office builds tension as we readers and George wait for somebody to identify it as a Patterson. Even more, though, George’s attachment to his Patterson paintings, and specifically the one from the antique shop, speak volumes about George’s character: his self-pride, his superior aesthetic eye, and his willingness to behave recklessly to preserve is purchase, which is really part and parcel of his identity.
You’ll find The Big Clock not only suspenseful but more sophisticated than the typical noir crime novel.
The Big Clock is a different kind of murder/crime novel, but nonetheless dark and tawdry as American Noir should be. It’s different because the murder doesn’t come until well into the novel, and then really isn’t the focus of the suspenseful race against the clock. The
Show More
focus is George Stroud, an ambitious magazine writer/editor, a man who drinks hard and cheats on his wife, who thinks quite highly of himself, of his intelligence, and his appreciation of aesthetics, particularly when it comes to art. The plot is a finely honed chase story about an innocent man, at least innocent of murder, trying to save his life. Even more, it’s a keen psychological probing of a cunning mind, that of George Stroud.Outlined, the story begins with George grumbling to himself at a party thrown by his employer, Earl Janoth, chairman of Janoth Enterprises, an agglomeration of magazines. There he meets Pauline Delos, a magnetic blonde, who also happens to be seeing Janoth. Sometime later George and Pauline hookup, when George’s wife and daughter are safely out of town. The pair have a wild weekend in New York, where they buy a painting that proves a key clue in the tale, and upstate in Albany. At the end, he sees her home, but not to her door because Janoth is arriving at that precise moment. George holds back in the shadows, unrecognized. Next thing he knows, Pauline is dead and the most likely murderer is Janoth. In a twist, though, to protect himself, Janoth and his business partner concoct a tale about the mystery man, who is the only one who can place Janoth at Pauline’s apartment, with the objective of eliminating him. They sic the full resources of the publishing house on finding the man, and they put George in charge. George, faced with the task of ferreting out himself, has to continually throw his team of investigative reporters off his scent, until, at the end, they have pretty much closed in on him. It’s then that Fearing springs a surprise, the seed of which he has placed in plain view at the outset of the novel.
Readers will find two features of the novel particularly interesting. First, the clock of the title; it serves as both a sort of stopwatch counting down the hours and minutes until George finds himself exposed. It also functions as an overarching symbol of the relentless grind of life, it’s unalterable march to the fatal moment in every life. The second are the Louise Patterson paintings; one hanging in George’s office builds tension as we readers and George wait for somebody to identify it as a Patterson. Even more, though, George’s attachment to his Patterson paintings, and specifically the one from the antique shop, speak volumes about George’s character: his self-pride, his superior aesthetic eye, and his willingness to behave recklessly to preserve is purchase, which is really part and parcel of his identity.
You’ll find The Big Clock not only suspenseful but more sophisticated than the typical noir crime novel.
Show Less
LibraryThing member burritapal
Wow, what a story! This one kept me guessing to the end. A philanderer with a wife and kid is a big shot at Time, Inc., hence The Big Clock. The cheating SOB takes out the Prez's girlfriend, and just as he's bringing her home, Prez shows up. Prez doesn't see him clearly, but when he kills said
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girlfriend in a fit of rage, later remembers that mystery man had seen him coming to visit girlfriend. The hunt is on! This is a real page-turner. Show Less
LibraryThing member TomDonaghey
The Big Clock (1946) by Kenneth Fearing. This book is about time, and the pressure that comes when your time is running out. The setting is New York City at the end of the 1940s. Janoth Enterprises is the leader in the world of magazine publishing. Earl Janoth is the king of that realm.
One of the
So when Janoth’s “close female friend” is murdered in her apartment, he turns to George to find the mysterious man who was seen outside her apartment minutes before the crime. George eagerly accepts the case and puts all other matters aside, both business and personal. He slowly works through the girlfriend’s recent past and makes some stunning discoveries. He knows that following this trail will lead him to the mystery man, but he is in no hurry.
George already knows who the mystery man is, and also knows the the man is not the killer. It has been revealed early in the book that George is that man, but he has no evidence to prove who the killer is. So he is working against the clock as both his and the police’s investigation lead toward that fatal discovery.
The question is can he survive the race?
This book has been made into two movies, the last being “No Way Out” starring Kevin Costner. While the book starts a little slow, it speeds up as the pressure, and lack of time, play against George.
This is a classic crime story and a great read.
One of the
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mags the company owns is Crimeways, and George Stroud is the executive publisher. Self-confident, smug in so many ways, he is the perfect man to helm that particular magazine. It is said if you want to know what is happening in the world of crime in the US, look here rather than to the police. Janoth himself trusts George in all things.So when Janoth’s “close female friend” is murdered in her apartment, he turns to George to find the mysterious man who was seen outside her apartment minutes before the crime. George eagerly accepts the case and puts all other matters aside, both business and personal. He slowly works through the girlfriend’s recent past and makes some stunning discoveries. He knows that following this trail will lead him to the mystery man, but he is in no hurry.
George already knows who the mystery man is, and also knows the the man is not the killer. It has been revealed early in the book that George is that man, but he has no evidence to prove who the killer is. So he is working against the clock as both his and the police’s investigation lead toward that fatal discovery.
The question is can he survive the race?
This book has been made into two movies, the last being “No Way Out” starring Kevin Costner. While the book starts a little slow, it speeds up as the pressure, and lack of time, play against George.
This is a classic crime story and a great read.
Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1946
Physical description
144 p.; 7 inches