The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart

Mathias Malzieu

Mar 2010 · Sold by Vintage

About this ebook

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A wildly original, fantastical adventure of love and heartbreak—and an animated movie, Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart—that takes us from Edinburgh to Paris to Andalusia to tell the story of a boy who discovers the great joys and ultimately the greater costs, of owning a fully formed heart. 

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.

Ratings and reviews

This novel was better than the movie, there was more depth, despair, and emotion. The book had its way of tugging at my own heart strings almost bringing me to tears one moment and filling me with excitement the next. I also liked the dynamic between Jack and Joe in the book rather than the movie, especially what Joe did for Jack's "heart" in the end. Mathias is excellent he needs to make more novel inspired movies and more music <3

I first watched the movie when I found there was a book I had to absolutely read it when I read the book i loves it the book is more in depth it has more detail and is beautifully written I wish to read the next book when it comes out in English

I only read the sample and I want to buy the book although the authors head is a bit bird shaped

About the author

MATHIAS MALZIEU is the lead singer of the French band Dionysos. The Boy with the Cuckoo-Clock Heart is the basis for an album that Malzieu wrote, and he is codirector of an animated feature-film adaptation produced by Luc Besson. This is his third novel and the first to be translated into English. Born in 1974 near Montpelier, Malzieu now lives in Paris.