Average Bufph Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
Kenneth Fearing
2006-07-18
A classic of American noir, part murder mystery and part black comedy, set in dark corners of corporate New York City.
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.
Fearing's 'The Big Clock' is a clockwork thriller that ticks with a relentless pace. The narrative is a masterful blend of suspense and psychological intrigue, with each character a cog in the machine of the plot. The protagonist's descent into paranoia is as gripping as it is relatable, a reflection of the anxieties that lurk beneath the surface of our lives. The prose is crisp and efficient, much like the ticking clock that drives the story forward. It's a noir narrative that's as much about the mechanics of time as it is about the unraveling of a mystery.
