One Hand Clapping

One Hand Clapping is a 1961 work by Anthony Burgess published originally under the pseudonym Joseph Kell. The novel was intended as an indictment of what Burgess saw as the degradation of contemporary Western education and culture. Burgess deliberately toned down his trademark love of vocabulary for the novel, which among other things lampoons the British television host Hughie Green. The entire vocabulary in One Hand Clapping amounts to approxim... more

One Hand Clapping is a 1961 work by Anthony Burgess published originally under the pseudonym Joseph Kell. The novel was intended as an indictment of what Burgess saw as the degradation of contemporary Western education and culture. Burgess deliberately toned down his trademark love of vocabulary for the novel, which among other things lampoons the British television host Hughie Green. The entire vocabulary in One Hand Clapping amounts to approximately 800 words. Francis Coppola has acquired the movie rights. The line, "Two hands clap and there is a sound; what is the sound of one hand?" is a traditional Zen koan, and the novel takes its title from this. Burgess justified the title as follows: "The clasped hands of marriage have been reduced [by the novel's end] to a single hand. Yet it claps." Howard has an unusual talent: he has a photographic memory. He uses his talent to enter, and win, a mega-money TV quiz show. He then discloses another gift: he is clairvoyant and can predict... less