One Hand Clapping (novel)
Encyclopedia
One Hand Clapping is a 1961 work by Anthony Burgess
published originally under the pseudonym
Joseph Kell.
The novel was intended as an indictment of what Burgess saw as the degradation of contemporary Western education and culture.
Burgess deliberately toned down his trademark love of vocabulary for the novel, which among other things lampoons the British television host Hughie Green
. The entire vocabulary in One Hand Clapping amounts to approximately 800 words.
Francis Coppola has acquired the movie rights.
koan, and the novel takes its title from this. Burgess justified the title as follows: "The clasped hands of marriage have been reduced [by the novel's end] to a single hand. Yet it claps."
He then discloses another gift: he is clairvoyant and can predict racing results. He gambles his winnings on race horses and the couple become extremely wealthy and travel the world, staying in luxury hotels.
On their return, however, Howard, disgusted by the corruption of the world they have seen - and troubled by prophetic glimpses of a coming decline in civilisation - declares that they must commit suicide
together by barbiturates.
Janet resists, killing Howard with a coal hammer. His corpse is placed in a field and becomes a scarecrow
to be devoured by birds. Janet flees with the remainder of their money, to begin a new life abroad.
Howard Shirley - Aged 27 and the husband of Janet. At the novel's opening, he is working at a used car dealership. He is an average man living an average life in Britain.
Anthony Burgess
John Burgess Wilson – who published under the pen name Anthony Burgess – was an English author, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. The dystopian satire A Clockwork Orange is Burgess's most famous novel, though he dismissed it as one of his lesser works...
published originally under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Joseph Kell.
The novel was intended as an indictment of what Burgess saw as the degradation of contemporary Western education and culture.
Burgess deliberately toned down his trademark love of vocabulary for the novel, which among other things lampoons the British television host Hughie Green
Hughie Green
Hughie Green was the host of numerous British television shows.-Early life:Hugh H. Green was born in London; his Scottish father was a former British Army Major who made his fortune supplying tinned fish to the Allied forces in World War I, while his mother Violet was the Surrey-born daughter of...
. The entire vocabulary in One Hand Clapping amounts to approximately 800 words.
Francis Coppola has acquired the movie rights.
Title
The line, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" is a traditional ZenZen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
koan, and the novel takes its title from this. Burgess justified the title as follows: "The clasped hands of marriage have been reduced [by the novel's end] to a single hand. Yet it claps."
Plot
Howard has an unusual talent: he has a photographic memory. He uses his talent to enter, and win, a mega-money TV quiz show.He then discloses another gift: he is clairvoyant and can predict racing results. He gambles his winnings on race horses and the couple become extremely wealthy and travel the world, staying in luxury hotels.
On their return, however, Howard, disgusted by the corruption of the world they have seen - and troubled by prophetic glimpses of a coming decline in civilisation - declares that they must commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
together by barbiturates.
Janet resists, killing Howard with a coal hammer. His corpse is placed in a field and becomes a scarecrow
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is, essentially, a decoy, though traditionally, a human figure dressed in old clothes and placed in fields by farmers to discourage birds such as crows or sparrows from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.-History:In Kojiki, the oldest surviving book in Japan...
to be devoured by birds. Janet flees with the remainder of their money, to begin a new life abroad.
Characters
Janet Shirley - The narrator and point of view through which the reader sees the novel. She introduces herself as "Janet Shirley, née Barnes ... just gone twenty-three." Burgess portrays her voice using a spartan vocabulary.Howard Shirley - Aged 27 and the husband of Janet. At the novel's opening, he is working at a used car dealership. He is an average man living an average life in Britain.