Tours of the Black Clock
Encyclopedia
Tours of the Black Clock is the third novel by author Steve Erickson
, published in 1989. It has been translated into French
, Spanish
, Dutch
and Japanese
. The narrative concerns itself with two of the most influential figures of the 20th century, as Adolf Hitler
appears as an important character, and allusions are made to Albert Einstein
and the theory of relativity
. The novel was cited as one of the year's best by the Village Voice and the New York Times Book Review and is included in Larry McCaffery
's list of the 20th Century’s Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
.
The ghost tells his story in first person
. His name was Banning Jainlight, and he begins by recounting his birth. He has the ability to look through the windows of his bedroom and see his time, as if looking at the Zeitgeist
. After killing a brother and burning down the ranch house where he grew up, Jainlight moves to a city, where he becomes the writer of pornographic stories. These stories are eventually being bought by a single customer, an eccentric German named Client X.
Jainlight writes stories about a fantasy woman who he is in love with, and she is also an expression of a woman that Client X was once in love with, who later died. The stories alter the course of history, as they change Hitler's mind about how to conduct the war. England falls. Russia and Germany have a tense peace. The Germans decide that they are finished with Jainlight, and they kill his wife and daughter to silence him.
He lives for a long time in a prison. Eventually, he hears his stories, broadcast over the radio as propaganda. He comes up with an escape plan, after finding Adolf Hitler in the same prison, now a senile old man. Jainlight and Hitler escape to America, to chase the ghost of the woman they both love. Hitler dies in New York City. Jainlight finds his way to Davenhall, where he lives for seventeen years in the hotel with Marc and his mother, trying to summon up the courage to ask for forgiveness. On the night Marc leaves town, he knows his life is slipping away, and he staggers down the hall, hoping to have time, but he doesn't.
The custom in town is to hang the dead in a tree until they say their name. When Marc's mother claims to know the name of the dead man in the tree, she is accused of lying. Somehow, the 20th century heals itself, the two timelines, the one we know, and Banning's timeline of a German victory, come back together.
Marc's mother passes away shortly after her son returns to the island. After her death, Marc goes to chase after the girl in the blue dress, after the 20th century, and winds up traveling through time, going from the end of the century back to its beginning.
, reappears here. Banning Jainlight appears in Erickson's later novels, The Sea Came in at Midnight
and Our Ecstatic Days. In Amnesiascope
, Erickson makes a reference to Black Clock Park, a fictional Los Angeles park where time capsules are buried.
Also, the CalArts literary journal that Erickson edits is named Black Clock
.
Steve Erickson
Stephen Michael Erickson is an American novelist, essayist and film critic. He is the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters's Award in Literature and a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation., and is considered an important representative of the Avantpop...
, published in 1989. It has been translated into French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
. The narrative concerns itself with two of the most influential figures of the 20th century, as Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
appears as an important character, and allusions are made to Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
and the theory of relativity
Theory of relativity
The theory of relativity, or simply relativity, encompasses two theories of Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity. However, the word relativity is sometimes used in reference to Galilean invariance....
. The novel was cited as one of the year's best by the Village Voice and the New York Times Book Review and is included in Larry McCaffery
Larry McCaffery
Lawrence F. "Larry" McCaffery Jr. is a literary critic, editor, and retired professor of English and Comparative Literature at San Diego State University...
's list of the 20th Century’s Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
20th Century’s Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
The 20th Century’s Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction is a popular "best of" list compiled by Larry McCaffery largely in response to Modern Library 100 Best Novels list , which McCaffery saw as being out of touch with 20th century fiction...
.
Plot summary
The novel follows a seemingly relativistic plot, where time and space disappear as absolutes. The first part concerns Marc, the son of a small-town prostitute who becomes the boatman, ferrying tourists from the mainland to Davenhall, the small island in the river where he grew up. Marc leaves town the night he sees a strange man die at his mother's feet, and spends fifteen years on the boat, never setting foot in town, until one day, when he meets a girl in a blue dress, who never returns with the other tourists. Marc goes onto the island to look for her, and sees his mother. Their meeting conjures up the ghost of the man who died fifteen years before, and his story takes over the novel.The ghost tells his story in first person
First-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
. His name was Banning Jainlight, and he begins by recounting his birth. He has the ability to look through the windows of his bedroom and see his time, as if looking at the Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist
Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...
. After killing a brother and burning down the ranch house where he grew up, Jainlight moves to a city, where he becomes the writer of pornographic stories. These stories are eventually being bought by a single customer, an eccentric German named Client X.
Jainlight writes stories about a fantasy woman who he is in love with, and she is also an expression of a woman that Client X was once in love with, who later died. The stories alter the course of history, as they change Hitler's mind about how to conduct the war. England falls. Russia and Germany have a tense peace. The Germans decide that they are finished with Jainlight, and they kill his wife and daughter to silence him.
He lives for a long time in a prison. Eventually, he hears his stories, broadcast over the radio as propaganda. He comes up with an escape plan, after finding Adolf Hitler in the same prison, now a senile old man. Jainlight and Hitler escape to America, to chase the ghost of the woman they both love. Hitler dies in New York City. Jainlight finds his way to Davenhall, where he lives for seventeen years in the hotel with Marc and his mother, trying to summon up the courage to ask for forgiveness. On the night Marc leaves town, he knows his life is slipping away, and he staggers down the hall, hoping to have time, but he doesn't.
The custom in town is to hang the dead in a tree until they say their name. When Marc's mother claims to know the name of the dead man in the tree, she is accused of lying. Somehow, the 20th century heals itself, the two timelines, the one we know, and Banning's timeline of a German victory, come back together.
Marc's mother passes away shortly after her son returns to the island. After her death, Marc goes to chase after the girl in the blue dress, after the 20th century, and winds up traveling through time, going from the end of the century back to its beginning.
Relationship to Other Works
The people in Steve Erickson's novel, as well as the places, do not stay in the novels in which they are written. The town of Wyndeaux, the setting for much of Erickson's first novel, Days Between StationsDays Between Stations (novel)
Days Between Stations is a 1985 novel by Steve Erickson. It has been translated into French, Italian, Russian and Japanese. Several stories intersect in this novel: Lauren and Jason's unhappy marriage, Lauren's love affair with Adrien-Michel, and a lost silent film titled "The Death of...
, reappears here. Banning Jainlight appears in Erickson's later novels, The Sea Came in at Midnight
The Sea Came in at Midnight
The Sea Came In At Midnight is the sixth novel by American writer Steve Erickson. It has been translated into French, German, Italian, Russian and Japanese...
and Our Ecstatic Days. In Amnesiascope
Amnesiascope
Amnesiascope is a 1996 novel by Steve Erickson. Set in Los Angeles after a cataclysmic earthquake, the novel incorporates elements of other novels that Erickson had published, such as the silent film from his first novel, Days Between Stations....
, Erickson makes a reference to Black Clock Park, a fictional Los Angeles park where time capsules are buried.
Also, the CalArts literary journal that Erickson edits is named Black Clock
Black Clock
Black Clock is an American literary magazine. Edited by Steve Erickson and published bi-annually by CalArts in association with the MFA Writing Program, the magazine is "dedicated to fiction, poetry and creative essays that explore the frontier territory of constructive anarchy." According to the...
.