Under The Eye Of The Clock

by Christopher Nolan

Under the Eye of the Clock A powerful and moving autobiography from a gifted writer who has been compared to Joyce and Yeats Full description

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Irish Literature, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Disability

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Christopher Nolan was an Irish poet and author, son of Joseph and Bernadette Nolan. He grew up in Mullingar, Ireland, but later moved to Dublin to attend college. He was educated at the Central Remedial Clinic School, Mount Temple Comprehensive School and at Trinity College, Dublin. His first book was published when he was fifteen. He won the Whitbread Book Award, for his autobiography in 1988. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Letters in the UK, the medal of excellence from the United Nations Society of Writers, and a Person of the Year award in Ireland.

Due to birth complications, Nolan was born with cerebral palsy, and could only move his head and eyes. To write, Nolan used a special computer and keyboard; in order to help him type, his mother, Bernadette Nolan, held his head in her cupped hands while Christopher painstakingly picked out each word, letter by letter, with a pointer attached to his forehead. He communicated with others by moving his eyes, using a signal system.

Reviews

[alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote this advice to a young friend whose writing he found wanting: "You've got to sell your heart, your strongest reactions, not the little minor things that only touch you lightly, the little experiences that you might tell at dinner."

Christopher Nolan had the courage to turn life into art, to write his soul onto paper. The result is a novel that soars and dips with young Joseph Meehan shifting restlessly between self-pity and delight, wry humour and despair, cynicism and admiration. The prose flies into your psyche, demanding to be read, demanding your attention by plunging you with no apology into this world that can only be explored through Nolan's richly tactile prose. Robbed of that kinetic ability common to the majority of us, he instead infuses his inner world with movement, feeling and physicality. This book has some of the most beautiful prose passages I have ever read -- passages I will return to again and again, just for the feel of them.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's very little I can say about this novel, except for.. This is a long way from the books I usually read, and I don't regret picking it up for one second.

Christopher Nolan's story is an important one for every single person out there. It makes you realize that every human being - no matter how able-bodied they are - is still human and should be treated that way. It sends an important message.

The writing is definitely something to get used to as Nolan uses words - and language in general - in a very unique way. I often had to reread sentences and paragraphs but that's what made my reading experience even more special.

5 / 5

[Paul Gaya Ochieng Simeon Juma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time is not on my side. The novel was really inspiring. It tells the story of a young disabled boy named Joseph, the son of Matthew and Nore, brother to Yvonne. The family is coping and struggling with his condition, always encouraging him and lifting him up during his trying times. He manages to climb the man made mountains to excel in his literary skills despite some bad reviews from other quarters. An inspiring novel...

[Mimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my word, has it been 30 years since I first read this book?!?!? By any standard, this is a beautifully written book and it's not till you're a ways in do you realize what it took for him to write it. But don't read it for that, read it because it's wonderfully written, and a tale of what love and family and friends will do for you. This then young man's life shines through the pages of this book.

[Aceofcase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nolan’s writing is simply beautiful. He truly mastered various literary devices, using them in a uniquely wonderful way.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This young man had no ability to speak 'til his father taped a stick to his head and placed a computer keyboard in front of him. 20 years of thought rushed out as his first book of poetry, including some invented words to best describe his view of the world. This is his second book: an autobiography. Amazing. Inspirational. Think ability.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very hard to understand and jumps around too much for me.

[Oumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce livre est touchant, imposant mais aussi normal et même banal. L'auteur y raconte sa vie unique mais on a la drôle d'impression que ça aurait pu être écrit par n'importe qui. À l'exception de la prose qui est incroyable et qui prend un certain temps à apprivoiser. C'est comme si Nolan avait canalisé le souffle qui manque à son corps dans ses mots, qui ne tiennent pas en place.
Malgré les apparences, il y a un monde en chaque humain et je suis heureux d'avoir vu un peu de celui de Christopher Nolan.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What impressive writing! Christopher Nolan writes a beautiful book about his growing up with severe disability and developing into a successful writer. His language is lovely, heart-wrenching, and thought-provoking. Not sure why Nolan chose to write this story from the 3rd person perspective as well as changing his name. It really doesn't make sense to me.

[Jim Puskas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Surely a remarkable achievement by Nolan in view of the tremendous obstacles he had to overcome, in some degree paralleling that of Helen Keller. Perhaps most impressive is the indomitable spirit of Nolan, boy and man. An inspiring true story. And yet, why only two stars?
First, because the story doesn't really go anywhere; Nolan succeeds in finding ways to communicate and he gains admittance to good schools. End of story. And then there's his all-singing, all-dancing, all-encompassing, allegorical alliteration ..... any pairing, however far-fetched will do. After the first fifty pages of that, it becomes tiresome.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this ages ago, and still remember it fondly. It's a lovely autobiography, generously speckled with Nolan's poetry. Of special interest to me were the animals in Nolan's young life, since he grew up in rural Ireland. Despite being crippled, he did ride, in a fashion, his sister's Connemera pony.

The title was certainly apt for Nolan, even though he was only about 21 when this was published. He was fully aware that his severe physical handicaps would shorten his life. And they did. He died at 43.

Warning: This gets very Irish at times, to the point that occasionally some expressions are translated into English.

[Marta E C R · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this book. It is unimaginable to me what it would be like to be trapped in a paralyzed and mute body with a brain as active as Nolan's. Nolan's parents and friends nurtured him in so many ways, but it must have been messier than it appears in this book (there was only one allusion to bowel issues, and it wasn't very descriptive). I wonder if Nolan's unusual writing style stemmed from his cerebral palsy; his predilection to use esoteric language or even make up his own, and to use combinations of words not typically seen.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The autobiography of a young man with cerebral palsy who defies the misconceptions and unending obstacles of his disability. Some parts were wonderful, while others seemed lacking and without direction. Some swearing also detracted from the book for me. I read this book solely because it was quoted in Palaccio's best-seller, Wonder. It took me a while to get through, and while I appreciate Nolan's grit and determination, I wasn't overly impressed.

[Darius · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's story and journey to publishing this book is beyond remarkable, the language is incredibly rich, and his voice authentic and unique. His storytelling keeps you reading even though the story itself isn't edge-of-your-seat stuff. Glad I read it and would recommend the book to others, although the story does seem to lose pace in parts and the extravagant poetic language is not every one's cup of tea and after a certain point can feel tedious.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a memoir written by Nolan, an Irish man with cerebral palsy, mostly paralyzed and unable to move with coordination. At age 10, he got on a medication that allowed him to control his tremors and he was able to start typing with a stick attached to his head. His first effort was a volume of James-Joycian like poetry. His second book was this memoir. Recommended.

[DeAndre · Rating 5 out of 5]

The heartfelt novel “Under The Eye Of The Clock” by Christopher Nolan opens up the minds of the audience, as to how paralyzed individuals think and feel. Nolan utilizes anaphora, simile and personification to convey to depressing and vulnerable thoughts and emotions of the paralyzed narrator.

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I appreciate the fact that this young man overcame many obstacles to communicate I didn’t care for his writing. It was as if he felt the need to use every word in the dictionary or something. I admire his courage and dedication to his craft.

[Lisa Musil · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language and imagery are so rich--I had to read this one chapter at a time.

[Joanna Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different

[Amethyst Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressive. Really good.

[Cheryl]

Too Literary for me, too creative and poetic. But I only got to p. 11. I wish I'd had more time to give it a better go. September 2024

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not that nolan

[Bookguide · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author was born profoundly handicapped by cerebral palsy, having little control over his body and unable to speak. Fortunately for him, his parents gave him unconditional love, included him in all they did, talked to him and his father told unlimited stories and recited poetry to him from an early age. They realised that he was intelligent and could understand what he wanted by a system of empathy, close observation and nods from the boy. He was sent to a special school where he learnt to read and write, then they managed to find a secondary school which was equally open-minded and inclusive. His mother initially helped him to write, supporting his head while he typed, letter by painstaking letter. When he was 14, he won a literary award from was then called the British Spastics Society, his case was publicised and IT specialists started working with him to find ways for him to communicate using a computer. This book is his autobiography, but he renames himself and his parents. In the book, he calls himself Joseph, perhaps in reference to a moment of supreme happiness when he took part in his school’s performance of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. In parts the language in this book is extraordinary, with unusual word uses and imagined words, with passages that jump from the page with originality. In other parts the language is more pedestrian. Whether this is a result of different parts being written when he was younger, of joining more poetic parts together with narrative prose, or whether his mother edited or even wrote the rest to make it into a coherent book and speed the process up, I wouldn’t like to speculate. What is certain is that Christopher Nolan’s life was both extraordinary and extraordinarily difficult and the less fanciful passages are a necessary respite from the sheer flights of fancy of the rest. Verdict: Due to the concentration required to read parts of this book, it took far longer than anticipated, but I shall certainly make the effort to read the rest to find out what happened to him up to the age of 22 when this was published.

[LISA · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give 10 stars to a book, this would be it!



Christopher Nolan's "Under The Eye Of The Clock" is an autobiographical account of his incredibly awe-inspiring and miraculous life. Born a cripple, he could have been consigned to the rubbish heap but instead and against all odds became a celebrated writer of this Whitbread Book winner, "The Banyan Tree" as well as an early book of poems. Without taking anything away from Joseph Meehan (a self portrait of Nolan), he couldn't have overcome his debilitating handicaps to scale the heights he did without the steady support and tender loving care of his family. A father, mother and sister who are such warm and emotionally intelligent human beings anybody would be blessed and proud to have them as family. The school principals, teachers and fellow students who accepted him, nurtured him and gave him the chance to prove himself equal to the best among physically whole human specimens are themselves shining examples of humanity who deserve as much recognition in Nolan's lifestory. Although it has been compared with James Joyce's "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man", it is in reality nothing like it. Whereas Joyce's work is for the most part depressing and full of pain and harshness, Nolan's story is so morally uplifting you almost forget its grave subject matter. Nolan's dazzling and inventive writing style is also unique and something to relish. He coins and mints new words which have a yet found a conventional meaning but are so emotionally accurate you know they're right. Read this if you're feeling down and need something to restore your faith in mankind !

[Katja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ik kan dit niet waarderen / beoordelen, mijn engels is niet goed genoeg. De schrijver maakt nieuwe woorden, de betekenis ervan zou je kunnen aanvoelen als je engels heel goed is, mij ontgaat het. In korte verhalen beschrijft hij hoe hij omgaat met zijn enorme handicap. Een verhaal, lang of kort, met een spanningsboog, kan dit euvel verhelpen. Dat lukt hier niet. Helaas.

Maar gelukkig heb ik de nederlandsevertaling gevonden! Ik vind het een erg barok boek. Het zijn niet zozeer verzonnen woorden, maar op een andere manier gebruikt. Veel bijvoeglijke naamwoorden ook. Op mij komt het wat ouderwets en ouwelijk over. Het is het relaas vd schrijver, maar in de tweede vorm geschreven; 'de jongen', de zwijgende Joseph', 'de treurige toestand van de invalide Joseph', 'het joch...'

[Robert Glover · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a unique and interesting book. Poor Christopher Nolan was born without the ability to use his body and could only type using a special tapping device on his forehead. What a challenge. Within his impotent body, however, a powerful mind thrived. He wrote several books, including this one, in his short life.

His language is clipped where you expect detail and spacious where you expect brevity, and convoluted to a point where it makes it difficult to tease out a meaning at times. It was more like poetry in many spots. Still, I didn't want to put it down. I had to read it just to follow his line of thought and gain insight into his sealed world.

[Annie Weatherly-Barton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just so beautifully written and almost poetic in its language. Moving, sad, uplighting and sometimes very funny. Christopher Nolan is such a bright, engaging young man with what might be seen, by some, as insurmountable physical problems due to his disability. Not so. His ability to write so brilliantly at such a young age is astounding. Honest, down-to-earth reality of his life but with presented with such humour and courage. Another book that I would give 10 stars if I only could!

[Alison Whiteman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was remarkable first because the author wrote the entire novel using a stick attached to his head to hit the letters on a keyboard. He was severely disabled. His writing was much like James Joyce. I read this in graduate school at The Evergreen State College. We were the first Master in Teaching class in the school's history and I lead a team to obtain an endorsement in special education.

[Mark Maguire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most overlooked books of the last 30 years, not only b/c of the fact that Nolan wrote it with a stick attached to his head, but because of the language itself. It is Joyce-ian in many ways, but it is also Nolan's own voice. His descriptions are vivid, his narration is strong, his word use is brilliant. It only took me so long to read it, because of the heavy per se nature of the book, I could only take so much at a time. A great book though.

[The Missing Text Bookstore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!! Christopher Nolan was a brilliant author trapped within a paralyzed and mute body, typing one letter at a time with a stick attached to his head. Not only did he finish school, including some college, he had an amazingly positive attitude in overcoming other obstacles. This book really makes me re-think my attitude.