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inside a broken clock: a modern fable
The linear progression of time is coming apart as two friends leave for the new state of Jefferson to become pot growers. A veteran army of tree sitters occupies the last stand of old-growth redwoods while under their feet a battle between good and evil is brewing with dire consequences for all of reality. A gentleman farmer mourns his departed wife when the devil appears and sparks a new resolve to rebuild his shattered life. A wayward soul is reincarnated at pivotal points of California's past, acquiring the experiences needed to help set things straight. One word: Sasquatch!
284 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2014
1 person is currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Roman Leao
2 books5 followersRomán Leão sightings throughout Northern California have variously described him as a newspaperman, graphic designer, high school English teacher, punk rock bass player, poet, minister, and comic book nerd. Experts disagree. Scientists are skeptical.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 5, 2014
Román Leáo's new novel Inside A Broken Clock is a masterpiece. I have never read anything like it and it packs all the punches of a 700 page literary epic in a mere 273. This book has everything, Bigfoot, dystopian political warfare, natural activists who live in the treetops, and the devil himself, a creature set on controlling time. This book is aching for a television or film adaptation a la Game of Thrones or The Leftovers because Mr. Leao has crafted such a brilliant, vast, emotive, and powerful world full of characters who although they live in the future of 2041 are still hugely relatable to modern audiences.
While it would seem that the combination of all of these elements into one novel would create a mess, Leao seamlessly connects the stories of many main characters including their histories and motives. This novel is full of suspense, beautiful figurative language and pop culture references that will evoke laughter and discussion amongst readers.
I plead with readers to give inside a broken clock: a modern fable a chance because it is a wondrous read and anyone who loves modern fiction will devour this book!. The book is subtitled a modern fable, but it should be subtitled: A Modern Classic. This book is a masterwork that all readers and writers of contemporary fiction should immerse themselves in! I can't wait to see what else the promising talent of Mr. Leao has in store. Words cannot describe how much I loved this book!!
While it would seem that the combination of all of these elements into one novel would create a mess, Leao seamlessly connects the stories of many main characters including their histories and motives. This novel is full of suspense, beautiful figurative language and pop culture references that will evoke laughter and discussion amongst readers.
I plead with readers to give inside a broken clock: a modern fable a chance because it is a wondrous read and anyone who loves modern fiction will devour this book!. The book is subtitled a modern fable, but it should be subtitled: A Modern Classic. This book is a masterwork that all readers and writers of contemporary fiction should immerse themselves in! I can't wait to see what else the promising talent of Mr. Leao has in store. Words cannot describe how much I loved this book!!
February 18, 2016
Surprisingly good tale set in the mid 21st century. The US has fallen apart and this story takes place in the redwood forests along the north coast of California, which supports a strange community of rugged individuals, stoned hippies, and tree huggers. The only flaw I could detect was it was difficult to follow who was talking because the conversation was so colorful and funny. The mysterious reason for the world fallen apart is very intriguing and the awesome strangeness of being in a redwood forest was well described. Oh, and the timeline jumps around. The clock is breaking.
February 19, 2017
I received a copy of this book from Library Thing in exchange for an honest review.I felt a lot of mixed emotions about this book. The whole journey was very up and down. I started off not really interested in it at all. Then I was engage for a while, but then disengaged again as the plot stretched out past the point of my interest. The story was all over the place, which had its high points, but overall it just felt like rambling.I didn't connect with any of the characters and had a hard time keeping them all straight as the story jumped all over the place through time and storyline.They were a lot of interesting aspects: Sasquatch, the mysterious car accident/disappearance, and the devil. But overall I think the concept of the book didn't live up to the actual completion of it.The tagline "What would happen if time could be manipulated by a mysterious ancient apparatus and the devil was scheming to get his hands on the controls?" really pulled me in. It really makes you think and the idea of the story is very poetic and mind-bending, but the smorgasbord approach to a story just did not do it for me. Leao is a talented writer, but I don't think his style is right for me
November 27, 2014
I received a signed copy with the promise of a review. While I was very grateful for the privilege, I had to remind myself that I should keep reading to make this happen.
Not entirely sure what I think of the idea of it being 'a modern fable'. I was expecting either a thought provoking epic or an intense story of morality. I can't say it came close in either regard.
What we got instead was a read of a modern take on the halfway demise of our country. It wasn't complete chaos, but still wouldn't be anyone's wishful thinking of what the United States could be. The characters were anything but deep and their search for meaning in the midst of dealing with odd creatures was lacking real intrigue.
I might have connected with the characters had they been struggling to accomplish something meaningful for their new society. Or, the same could be said about the mystical creatures had they been simply interacting with our kind. But to try to tie together the storyline of each didn't work for me.
According to other reviews it happened to be a style of writing that may have been hard to connect with. Such was the case with me getting through this book.
Not entirely sure what I think of the idea of it being 'a modern fable'. I was expecting either a thought provoking epic or an intense story of morality. I can't say it came close in either regard.
What we got instead was a read of a modern take on the halfway demise of our country. It wasn't complete chaos, but still wouldn't be anyone's wishful thinking of what the United States could be. The characters were anything but deep and their search for meaning in the midst of dealing with odd creatures was lacking real intrigue.
I might have connected with the characters had they been struggling to accomplish something meaningful for their new society. Or, the same could be said about the mystical creatures had they been simply interacting with our kind. But to try to tie together the storyline of each didn't work for me.
According to other reviews it happened to be a style of writing that may have been hard to connect with. Such was the case with me getting through this book.
June 9, 2015
This book was truly a pleasure to read. I was a bit tentative at first and had to do a bit of backtracking to make sure I had the characters straight (so to speak) but that only lasted for the first few chapters, then it began to, well, not necessarily make sense (which is a good thing in this case) but be followable. It was some time after that when some things started making some kind of sense, though hints were scattered throughout.
The combination of the familiar made unfamiliar (the United States has been divided, wait, maybe that isn't so unfamiliar, but I digress) with a very good plot and some humor mixed in makes this a book well worth reading for readers of drama, thrillers, scifi, and even fantasy.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing.
The combination of the familiar made unfamiliar (the United States has been divided, wait, maybe that isn't so unfamiliar, but I digress) with a very good plot and some humor mixed in makes this a book well worth reading for readers of drama, thrillers, scifi, and even fantasy.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing.
May 14, 2019
This book is what happens when the author has lived in Humboldt County and devoured the works of Hunter S. Thompson and Tom Robbins. Absurdist fun, and I never knew what was going to happen next. Unpredictable is the best.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews