The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart by Mathias Malzieu

The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

Mathias Malzieu

Visual and whimsical, this is something of a steampunk fairytale, but the sweetness has sharp edges. Reading this feels like biting into an extravagant, beautifully crafted, sugar sculpture, only to cut your tongue on the shards.

Extract
Patients end up here when they've broken something but can't afford a 'qualified' doctor. Whether she's fine-tuning, or mending and discussing, Madeleine likes tinkering with people's hearts. I don't feel such an oddity with my clockwork heart when I hear a client complain about his rusty spine.
Parallels
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
  • The Corpse Bride - the film
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern