Book Review: The Clocktower
By Elizabeth Suggs
The Clocktower: And Other Short Stories by N. T. Laemmle is a set of modern-day fables, interwoven in a striking poetic world.
Each story is very different from the others in this collection. What connects the stories is the lesson behind each one, and while some of the lessons were so subtle I had to go back and reread the story again, others were bright and bold in my face.
My favorite stories were “The Brothers,” “Abnormal Psychology,” “The Crow’s Nest,” and “The Clocktower.” These stories stood out to me in their beauty and style, though you can’t go wrong with any of them.
“The Clocktower” starts out the anthology. It’s an abstract concept of caging oneself. The imagery and emotions are very striking in this story. It’s a fantastic choice to start with.
“The Brothers” is about, you guessed it, brothers. This tale is one about believing your life is the only way, but whether it’s set all in meditation or focused on work, it becomes imbalanced. Better to meditate and be productive than to think one is superior and only worth doing. I really enjoyed this, and there was a fun twist at the end!
“Abnormal Psychology” is a short and sweet story about a girl who does things because they are “cool.” A boy approaches her and makes her question this reality she’s set herself in.
“The Crow’s Nest” was a cautionary tale on that male(or female!) bravado, which sometimes happens in a society, even one as small as a boat. This happened to occur between the captain and the first mate. One wanted one thing, the other another, and yet neither could confront the other, so they danced around, playing with lives in the process. Very engaging story. Honestly, it’s probably my favorite in the bunch.
Also, not part of my selected stories, but I needed to call out this quote because it made me laugh: Paler than a princess’ arse. This was from "No One Dropped the Boulder."
This is a great collection of stories. I can’t wait to read more!
Here are some fun quotes:
People don’t much care about the size of their own lot in life, only that they aren’t getting cheated by their neighbor. That they’ll accept less from the world, so long is their neighbors are getting even less than them! — “No One Dropped the Boulder”
What kind of world would it be if people overcame their hardships without ever really identifying and learning from their mistakes? — “No One Dropped the Boulder”
Elizabeth Suggs is the owner and founder of Editing Mee and co-owner of Collective Tales Publishing. When she’s not writing or editing, she loves to dive deep into books (the weirder, the better!), and she loves to take random long walks to unplanned destinations. Check out her recently released book Collective Darkness with eleven other authors. Buy your copy here: www.CollectiveDarkness.com