The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart [Paperback]

A wildly original, fantastical adventure—and now an animated move,Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart—this international bestseller will charm readers of all ages.

Edinburgh, 1874. Born with a frozen heart, Jack is near death when his mother abandons him to the care of Dr. Madeleine—witch doctor, midwife, protector of orphans—who saves Jack by placing a cuckoo clock in his chest. And it is in her orphanage that Jack grows up among tear-filled flasks, eggs containing memories, and a man with a musical spine.

As Jack gets older, Dr. Madeleine warns him that his heart is too fragile for strong emotions: he must never, ever fall in love. And, of course, this is exactly what he does: on his tenth birthday and with head-over-heels abandon. The object of his ardor is Miss Acacia—a bespectacled young street performer with a soul-stirring voice. But now Jack’s life is doubly at risk—his heart is in danger and so is his safety after he injures the school bully in a fight for the affections of the beautiful singer.

Now begins a journey of escape and pursuit, from Edinburgh to Paris to Miss Acacia’s home in Andalusia. Mathias Malzieu’sThe Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heartis a fantastical, wildly inventive tale of love and heartbreak—by turns poignant and funny—in which Jack finally learns the great joys, and ultimately the greater costs, of owning a fully formed heart.“A fantastic voyage . . . A whimsical fairy-tale of a book—for adults . . . It’s like a dark version ofAlice in WonderlandorPinocchio. . . A quick and entertaining read that people who like fantasy-fiction and folk tales will appreciate. —Jenny Dial,Houston Chronicle

“The brilliance of this gothic-punk novella, sparkling with imagery filtered through the prism of French film-makers Jeunet and Caro, is in the telling: Malzieu’s prose is distinctly origilsy