THE DANDELION CLOCK

dandelion clock (plural dandelion clocks). A single stem of a dandelion in its post -flowering state with the downy covering of its head intact. The term is applied.
Table of contents

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Dandelion Clock , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Apr 14, PaperMoon rated it it was amazing Shelves: Whenever I need some light and calm gay-themed reading material to soothe the fevered brow, I go back to my tried and tested copy of Mandal's The Dandelion Clock ; not a fast paced action read with lots of hawt M-on-M action romance.

A warmly engaging reading experience. The story has two main arcs, part one where David meets Whenever I need some light and calm gay-themed reading material to soothe the fevered brow, I go back to my tried and tested copy of Mandal's The Dandelion Clock ; not a fast paced action read with lots of hawt M-on-M action romance. The story has two main arcs, part one where David meets Rob at the train station and brings home a lost waif and part two, where David and Rob has to overcome a multitude of internal obstacles and barriers to find the strength to love.

Share this title

Mandal explores the inner thoughts and struggles of each of these two main protagonists so well, the dialogue and interactions never fails to move me emotionally the ending of the plot part one leaves me feeling bereft each time. Sometimes the POV switches unexpected and without warning but this is a minor quibble.

View all 5 comments. Jan 04, Lauren Kolozak rated it really liked it. A beautiful love story. Jul 12, Jeremy rated it liked it.

The Dandelion Clock is Jay Mandal's low key exploration of love between two men, one older and steadfast, the other younger and overcoming trauma. Set in the mid 's, amid the AIDS crisis though mentioned quite frequently, it never plays out in the narrative , David meets Rob in Waterloo Station one evening when his train is delayed.

Minding the dandelion clocks

They strike up a friendly conversation, within the course of it David discovers that Rob is living on the streets. Without quite understanding why, David invite The Dandelion Clock is Jay Mandal's low key exploration of love between two men, one older and steadfast, the other younger and overcoming trauma. Without quite understanding why, David invites Rob to stay with him for a few days while Rob figures things out.

Soon Rob moves in full time even though it's David's parents' house but don't worry, they are on an extended stay in America , and David falls in love with him, but keeps his feelings to himself, not sure what Rob thinks or wants. From there the story develops as many romance stories do; secrets are kept, feelings are hurt, no one truly expresses themselves, that is until they do, and everything turns out all right in the end.

Observations on British and American English by an American linguist in the UK

Mandal doesn't raise the stakes too much on David and Rob's dance of hearts, which is oddly endearing, that is until the second half when Rob's trauma is told, but it only raises its pulse slightly, which robs it of its tension to be truly heart-shattering, which is felt. What Mandal does get so right is that feeling you get when you meet someone and are so totally affected by them, beyond any fathomable reason, that your whole life is turned upside down.


  1. Sweet Seduction.
  2. Hacker Monthly Issue 7 (Regular Issue)?
  3. Navigation menu.
  4. The Bookseller and Other Stories.
  5. Album for the Young. No. 10. The Happy Farmer Returning from Work?
  6. The Divine Comedy: Volume 3: Paradiso: 003 (Galaxy Books);
  7. The Dandelion Clock by Guy Burt!

The title seems to refer to watching love bloom in a place where you wouldn't think possible, finding the hour for when it is right. Oct 28, Benjamin rated it liked it Shelves: David, in his late twenties, first spots teenage Rob while waiting for his train at Waterloo station. They get talking and when David learns that Rob has just run away from home and is sleeping rough he offers him a bed for the night. After some doubts, only increased when in response to Rob's question David admits that he is gay, Rob accepts - but keeps his room locked at night. As it turn out Rob stays for more than the night, the two get on well but Rob begins to realise that David is falling David, in his late twenties, first spots teenage Rob while waiting for his train at Waterloo station.

The Dandelion Clock

As it turn out Rob stays for more than the night, the two get on well but Rob begins to realise that David is falling in love with him, so determines to find a place of his own and eventually moves out. David is devastated - but all is not as it seems, and maybe David has not seen the last of Rob. The Dandelion Clock is undoubtedly a lovely story with two very appealing main characters: However the story is let down by the somewhat dispassionate, reportage writing; it lacks involvement, and so misses out on the real potential for a what could have been heartrending, moving account.

Mike Absalom - The Dandelion Clock

It is still a pleasant read, unnecessarily too coy at times - one has to use ones imagination to join up to dots on occasions; but there are some nice touches of humour especially shared between David and Rob; but it is far from great writing. Aug 08, Suki Fleet rated it really liked it Shelves: Very sweet and slow love story, kinda hurts too. I can't put my finger on quite what it is about this book but I read it a long time ago and I still find myself thinking about aspects of it now.

My only reservation is in places I found the detailing of everyday life made it a little too slow. Nov 16, Antonella rated it really liked it. It has a certain pleasant quietness. The POV switches were a bit annoying though: Apr 16, Cay rated it it was amazing Shelves: Cj rated it it was amazing Dec 15, Ewelina rated it did not like it Mar 04, I wondered, perhaps this being the first time I had thought of a dandelion beyond it being a weed, if that yellow flower is the dandelion, or if the dandelion is the puffball that I will still stop to pick and blow to the wind?

Are they two forms of the very same thing? Are they really a weed? I know dandelions are resilient and tenacious and with a quick search I learned they, in fact, have much to offer.

The Dandelion Clock by Jay Mandal

The flowers, leaves and roots have been used worldwide for thousands of years in medicine and herbalism and they are full of vitamins, A, C and K and a good source of calcium, potassium, iron and manganese. They have been used to treat infections and blood, liver and digestive disorders. But this is not about encouraging you to make use of the dandelions in your yard. My fascination was about the yellow flower and the puffball and this feeling that somehow there was a mindfulness metaphor in there somewhere. In nature, flowers bloom then turn to seed.

The big transformations of nature, however, were most often about caterpillars turning into butterflies. After watching more time lapse videos than I care to admit, I was in awe. The yellow flower explodes open with total abandon and provides its pollen and nectar for bees and butterflies. Then the lower petals reach up like gentle arms wrapping it back up into a tiny twisted tassel. Over a few days the inside work happens as the delicate white wisps grow and the yellow petals dry and get pushed up like a fairy tassel hat.

The breath is where mindfulness begins, and it is always there for us.

See a Problem?

It is the life force we need to move and think and love, and yet we so seldom appreciate its value until we have breathing issues or are close to our last breath. Then we stop and sit. For the bright yellow dandelion flower, the bees and butterflies pause to visit and collect what they need and then pass on by.


  1. The Heir Of Night: The Wall of Night: Book One.
  2. Dandelion Clocks;
  3. The Sand Soldiers.