Jason Lee Rainey lives in Hadlee, Mississippi in the 70s and 80s. He knows nothing about his deceased father until his first day of school when his mother tells the boy that his father was a hero. As the novel progresses, the story of his hero father slowly unfolds and coincides with Jason Lee’s coming-of-age struggles to grow into a Read the rest of this entry »
`I mean, whatever you do, make sure you stay one step ahead of the second hand.’ These are just some of the wise and wily words spoken by Uncle Mooks, our main character Jason Lee’s Vietnam War veteran uncle, and this terrifically successful book is just brimming over with such bits of insight and wisdom and humor and a true Read the rest of this entry »
Wow. What a beautifully written, profound novel. The Clock Of Life is a coming of age story with a healthy dose of historical fiction. The characters and their relationships are authentic and well-developed. Descriptive phrasing and imagery perfectly captures small town life in the deep South. The author nailed the deep Mississippi dialect. She includes just enough slang and phonetic Read the rest of this entry »
Not only was this book beautifully written, but the depth of the characters was as incredible and the story was powerful. In addition, the author draws you into the story with such amazingly believable dialect and mannerisms for the small-town southern mixed culture of the 70s and 80s. The relationships she develops between the characters, some simple and some more Read the rest of this entry »
What a powerful story (it made me cry, but for a good reason)! I enjoyed the characters and really felt for them (which makes or breaks a book for me). The events within the story also felt realistic to me for the time period (Small town Mississippi in the 1980’s). So many different ideas were covered within this story I Read the rest of this entry »
Many of the reviews here do a fine job of summarizing and evaluating this novel. I’ll just add a couple of impressions that have particularly lingered with me (I read the book months ago). The characterization of Vietnam veteran Uncle Mooks is nuanced and intriguing. It crossed my mind that a novel about his earlier life would be one I’d Read the rest of this entry »
April 29, 2013 – I have not been so engrossed by a book since my college years – and that was a LONG time ago. Ms. Moren’s descriptions of the characters, events and even the weather are so real that one actually feels they are IN the story. Harper Lee is one of my favorite authors of all time. I Read the rest of this entry »
The book “The Clock of Life” by Nancy Klann-Moren is the powerful story of a boy, Jason Lee, growing up in the South where racism was still very common. Jason Lee, a strong-minded White boy, never conformed to the ideas which prevailed in Mississippi throughout his upbringing. He always looked for answers about why things were the way they were. Read the rest of this entry »
I usually don’t read novels because after the first few pages I get turned off by the books. However, Nancy Klann Moren’s book The Clock of Life, held my interest from page one until its end. To me, the read reminded me of the classic kinds of great novels that I read many years ago in high school and college. Read the rest of this entry »
I have not been so engrossed by a book since my college years – and that was a LONG time ago. Ms Moren’s descriptions of the characters, events and even the weather are so real that one actually feels they are IN the story. Harper Lee is one of my favorite authors of all time. I agree that Ms. Moren Read the rest of this entry »
Nancy’s book drew me into the story so deeply that I feel her characters are people I have known all my life. She gave history a living voice through Jason Lee’s dad’s experiences in the Civil Rights Movement and through Uncle Mooks, a veteran injured in the Vietnamese War. Nancy’s first novel is a canvas on which the characters, setting, Read the rest of this entry »
I was not able to put it down. I have also read Ms. Moren’s book of short stories, “Like The Flies On The Patio,” and was impressed enough to read “The Clock Of Life.” Writing from the point of view of several characters, not remotely like the author in age, gender, or background is a wonderful and enviable talent. I Read the rest of this entry »
