BookRags - The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell l Summary & Study Guide

The Bone Clocks Study Guide

The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell

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Plot Summary

Holly Sykes is a child when she first hears voices. She's soon comforted by an Anchorite who introduces herself as Miss Constantine. Holly is soon afraid of Miss Constantine and tells her mother about her fears. When Holly's mother, Kath, seeks help, she finds a psychiatrist named Dr. Marinus, who immediately puts an end to Holly's connection with Miss Constantine. What Kath and Holly don't know is that Marinus is really a Horologist who has been reincarnated over several lifetimes and is part of the ultimate battle of good-versus-evil against the Anchorites.

The Anchorites befriend children who are gifted with various psychic abilities. They convince the children to go willingly with them to a Chapel where the Anchorites literally feed on the children in order to keep themselves young. Through this process, they are immortal. Miss Constantine had been grooming Holly for that role and it's only Marinus' intervention that saves her.

Holly becomes a teenager and has a fight with her mother over Holly's involvement with a boy. Holly, believing she is in love and in the right, runs away from home. Her younger brother, Jacko, disappears the following day and everyone assumes that he's run away in search of Holly. Holly is devastated, believing it's her fault that Jacko disappears.

As an adult, Holly encounters Marinus again, this time in a different body, and discovers that her brother Jacko had died of a childhood illness. From that time, his body was held by a Horologist named Xi Lo. It was actually Xi Lo who disappeared and Holly is recruited to join the Horologists in what will be their final battle against the Anchorites. Holly learns that there have been dozens of victims of the Anchorites over the years and that there is a slim chance that Xi Lo known to Holly as Jacko might be saved in the process.

Although she wasn't aware of it, Holly has served as a host to another Horologist, Esther Little, who encountered the teenaged Holly when she was running away from home. Esther sees future events and leaves clues for Marinus that help him reweave Esther's memories into a full version of herself, though Esther is functioning without a body during the final battle against the Anchorites.

The Horologists make their way into the Chapel and the battle begins. There are casualties on both sides and it appears the Horologists will lose, but a last-minute effort by Holly saves Marinus. She literally strikes Miss Constantine in the head with a rolling pin, making it possible for her to escape. Marinus manages to get away with the help of an Anchorite who cares deeply for Holly.

Decades pass. Holly makes a life for herself and her daughter Aoife. Aoife and her husband, who is from Iceland, are killed in a plane crash along with many others during a Gigastorm, leaving Holly to raise her granddaughter, Lorelei. Holly eventually adopts a young refugee, Rafiq, who has diabetes. As their part of the country faces looting and a total breakdown of government, Holly fears for her adopted children more than for herself.

Just as her fears hit a peak, a huge ship arrives. Rafiq is fishing and someone from the ship asks for Holly and Lorelei by name. Rafiq is afraid but Holly soon discovers that Marinus is in yet another body, this time as a vital adviser to the Icelandic government. Marinus has located Holly and, using his Horologist abilities, manages to convince the government that Lorelei is vital to their country's well-being. Iceland, being one of the few remaining functional countries with electricity, oil, medicines, and technology, has the insulin necessary for Rafiq's survival.

Holly, knowing that her life is nearing its end, knows the best chance of survival for Rafiq and Lorelei are to go with Marinus. They part with many tears and with Holly's profound thanks to Marinus for this final act of care toward her family.

A Hot Spell: 1984 - June 30

Summary

The story opens in the section titled A Hot Spell: 1984. The first chapter is June 30. Holly Sykes wakes in her bedroom in Kent. Her first thoughts are of her boyfriend, Vincent Costello. She hears her mother, Kath, and wonders if she somehow knows about Vincent. Downstairs, she encounters her younger siblings, Jacko and Sharon. She hears her dad, Dave, dealing with a delivery to their pub, The Captain Marlow. Kath confronts Holly about Vincent and the argument culminates with Kath slapping Holly. Holly walks out of the room.

Jacko stops her as she's leaving the house. He's drawn a maze and pleads with her to memorize every bit of it. Holly is taken aback by his plea and by his statement that he knows she's leaving home to move in with Vincent.

On the way to Vincent's house, Holly sees Ed Brubeck, a boy from her class at school. She ducks into a doorway to avoid him. She then runs into her older brother, Brendan, and says she's going to work on a school project with her best friend, Stella. Holly knows Brendan will share that information with Kath. At Vincent's house, she finds Vincent in bed with Stella and she rushes out, not sure what to do now but certain she doesn't want to go home.

She continues walking along the Thames and is very thirsty. She sees a woman fishing and learns her name is Esther Little. Esther is another Horologist but Holly doesn't know that. Esther agrees to share her tea. She then writes my long name on the jetty with a piece of chalk, saying it's instructions for someone years from now, and that it will wash off from the jetty but will remain in Holly's memory. She then says that she might someday need asylum. Holly thinks Esther is crazy and agrees that she'll offer asylum in return for the tea.

Holly continues walking and thinks that her parents might be getting worried by now. She expects her dad might have even decided to visit Vincent. Holly decides she'll sleep out for two nights, then decide what to do next. She takes a nap and Ed Brubeck wakes her. He tells her it's about five miles to the next town, Allhallows, and after some indecision, Holly accepts a ride on the back of his bicycle. Ed talks about working the previous summer at a produce farm called Black Elm Farm, and his plans for this summer. They have fish and chips and then Ed helps her get into a church where they spend the night after Ed calls home.

Analysis

Holly's relationship to her siblings is not deeply explored in the book, other than her fondness for Jacko. She doesn't seem that close to her sister, Sharon, or her brother, Brendan, as a child but they grow into a deeper connection in early life. Jacko is not the typical little boy and everyone including Jacko seems to be aware of that. He likes to listen to Chinese radio stations and he often says things that are wise beyond his years. It's not until later that the reader and Holly learn that Jacko actually died sometime before the events of the first chapter and that the Horologist Xi Lo is living in Jacko's body. Xi Lo has been alive for many generations which explains the wisdom and he was originally Chinese which explains the interest in Chinese radio stations.

As Holly is leaving the house, Xi Lo (in Jacko's body) confronts her. He says he knows she's planning to move in with Vincent and urges her to take the maze he's drawn for her. Holly tries to placate him but he's insistent that she memorize the maze completely so that she could work it in the dark. Xi Lo seems to have knowledge of the future and knows that Holly's life will one day depend on her ability to get through a maze in this configuration. Holly, because this is the last time she sees the person she knows as her little brother, will memorize the maze.

In the first chapter, Holly talks about her memories of the summer when she was seven years old. She recalls hearing vague voices and she comes to refer to them as the Radio People. She has a nightmare one night and wakes to find a lady seated on her bed, reassuring her that everything is alright. The woman identifies herself as Miss Constantine. Holly finds herself strangely comforted by Miss Constantine's presence, especially when Miss Constantine says she has made the Radio People disappear. But later, Miss Constantine apparently arranges an accident for a classmate who has threatened Holly. Holly realizes it's no coincidence and she tells her mother about Miss Constantine. This results in Holly's first encounter with a Horologist named Marinus.