Little Hands Clapping, is a novel by British author Dan Rhodes, published in 2010 by Canongate. Its title comes from a line in Robert Browning's poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Little Hands Clapping
First edition cover
(with quote from Douglas Coupland)
AuthorDan Rhodes
Cover artistDavid Roberts
LanguageEnglish
PublisherCanongate Books
Publication date
4 February 2010
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint & eBook
Pages320
ISBN1-84767-529-8

Plot introduction

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The novel centres around a bizarre German museum dedicated to suicide; Herr Schmidt, its grim grey curator; and the respectable Doctor Ernst Frölicher and his shocking secret.

Various characters appear with short lifestories including the Luciano Pavarotti-obsessed founder of the museum and her Pavarotti-lookalike husband, Hulda the cleaner who believes she is doomed to Hell, and Madalena the suicidal Portuguese student.

Reception

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  • "Totally sick and brilliant, He sucks you into his world. I loved it." Douglas Coupland[1]
  • "Almost every page of Little Hands Clapping has superb quirks or asides which will have the reader laughing. A sublime, brilliant novel", The Scotsman[2]
  • "It should please cynical idealists and idealistic cynics alike." Financial Times[3]

References

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  1. ^ Cover quote
  2. ^ "Little Hands Clapping". 5 January 2010.
  3. ^ Turpin, Adrian (7 February 2010). "Little Hands Clapping". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
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