Late Victorian London is my happy place, so I was looking forward to this one. The novel is beautifully written and atmospheric (I love the details), with a bit of magic (rather like BABEL) in the enchanted timepieces, and with a love story at its heart.
The main character is a lonely, hardworking man named Thaniel Steepleton, who wanted to be a musician but became a civil servant to support his sister and her two children. Thaniel has the interesting trait of synesthesia (which is real but feels a bit like magic), by which sights and sounds intermingle - so, for example, the "gold [of the pocket watch] caught the ember-light and shone the colour of a human voice." His life changes when he is given a mysterious gift of a pocket watch that saves his life by warning him of a bomb set by Clan na Gael (the Irish Republican Brotherhood) to destroy Scotland Yard and the Home Office (1883 true history). The watchmaker, Keita Mori, is Japanese and can predict the future; when he wrongfully comes under suspicion for aiding the bombing, the selfishness and prejudices of others nearly destroy him. By turns wryly humorous, suspenseful, and big-hearted. Highly recommended.
