This month's book club pick was slim but packed an outsize emotional wallop. It's a sweet, wistful story about a pair of young men, Ellis and Michael, growing up in Oxford, and the bond between them that shifts as they grow up and their circumstances change, and how Ellis winds up alone in his 30s. It's all character development, very little in the way of plot, which tend to be the books that work best for me. The prose is simple but poignant. It doesn't use quotation marks to set off dialogue, which some readers find irritating but I found worked just fine in context. I really really loved it, it was beautiful and heartwarming and heartbreaking.

Unfortunately, I did not connect with the characters of this story and it made it hard for me to feel very immersed in this book as a result. But besides that, the writing is gentle and exquisite and I will look out for Winman's books in the future. This one did not work for me, but I would read another book by Winman.

This book really explores the deep despairs of grief, longing and loneliness. It captures it beautifully. The book leaves you with a tinge of sadness and melancholy. A reflection of love and regrets. It’s tenderly written and softly worms itself into your heart giving you lots to reflect about your own lost connections.

I read this book through a book club. I did not enjoy it-- I found the characters frustrating and not terribly well developed. Some of the book club members did enjoy the book however, with a particular eye for the lyrical language.

This is one sad but beautiful book. This one has all the feels - friendship, love, loss, and grief. Will highly recommend to friends and book club.

This was a nice read, but didn't leave a lasting impression on me as Winman's other books have. I didn't feel a strong connection to the characters and at times lost interest.

Oh my god, did I love this book. I don't know if everyone will feel the same way I did, but this one had me from the first page to the last.

I know that blurbs on the covers of books often come from friends or other authors from the same publisher, but when Matt Haig says, "This is an astoundingly beautiful book. It drips with tenderness. It breaks your heart and warms it all at once," how can you resist?

A brief, stirring novel about the power of art... Winman is a gifted writer who, in rich but concise prose, draws us into the world of Ellis and Michael, the endurance of friendship, and the uses of love and memory. An exquisite novel.

Tin Man is a story about friendship and the complexities of relationships. Sarah Winman has penned a beautiful novel!

This short, bittersweet novel was so powerful and so beautifully written than I read it twice in one sitting.

I'm not one to appreciate fine writing as I tend to focus more on the story and intriguing characters. When I rave about a book and a reader tells me "It was OK, but poorly written." I have to admit that if it was compelling enough to keep me reading, I simply don't notice the "poor" writing. However. I did notice the beautiful writing and phrasing in "Tin Man" to the point where I feel the need to read it again to get all of the nuances of the story and to concentrate on the author's prose.

So read it and be amazed. It might not be for everyone as the story is a little scattered and I'm not sure I figured it all out but the writing transcends anything else that might be lacking for some readers.

This is a good bet for those who liked Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name" or the spare novels by Julian Barnes.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance digital reading copy.

Tin Man

Sara Winman

GP Putnam, Sons, May 2018

224 pages, Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback, Audible

Fiction, Adult Fiction, M/M Romance

✭✭✭✭⭑

Provided/eARC

This is not the cover of the ARC I had, but this is the cover of the published version, which is really quite nice. Quite appropriate for the novel and rather attractive.



I’m sure you recognize the image above as Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers or a close rendition of it. This story starts out with Dora and Len Judd going to a neighborhood evening at the pub and Dora wins a raffle where she has the opportunity to choose a prize. Len wants her to choose the whiskey, but she is strangely drawn to the painting of the flowers and makes her choice. Once home, her choice wins her another prize, a fight, and some bruises. The painting continues to cause trouble in the house. Dora and Len have a son, Ellis. Ellis has a talent for art which his mother encourages. She also encourages him to stay in school. Eventually, she can’t take the bullying anymore and leaves, encouraging Ellis to stay in school and continue his art. Len forces Ellis to work at the car company working with metal.

People come and go in Ellis’ life but few are important. There’s Mabel who runs the shop and who takes him in. There’s Michael who he lives with at Mabel’s in their own little world. Michael has a talent for writing and loves Ellis. He shows Michael what love between two young men can be, innocent, naive, forbidden. But the two only have a short time together because there’s Annie. The third one of the trio of friends who in her innocence also loves Ellis. Annie who will destroy that little world of theirs by marrying Ellis leaving Michael out in the cold.

Michael finds the world cold indeed. He finds contentment for a time with another young man and then he goes off to France to be the maid in a hotel at the edge of a large field of sunflowers. Here he finds some semblance of peace before returning to England. He reduces his life, physically and emotionally, to only what is necessary before returning to face Annie and Ellis just before his death. Very moving. This journey from love to death and understanding.

This was not my usual type of book. I don’t like sad books. It was almost like a memoir of these sad lives rather than a story. And the back and forth of the time with the memories parts made it difficult at times to tell when you were actually moving forward in the story. It had a lazy sort of pace to it, except for the part while Michael’s friend was in palliative care and when he was in France. Those times had much more of a sense of tension about them with things actually happening and keeping you alert about what would come next.

It’s a love story, but the lovers were actually together for such a short time that it’s sad and poignant. I read this book through twice because after the first time I really didn’t feel I was ready to write a review. I had to let it set in my mind for a bit. Even after the second reading and having notes on it, I don’t feel that I have a real handle on this one. It sort of floats around in the mists on me. I recommend this for readers who enjoy crying over their characters and who are not offended by same-sex love affairs. And it was love. It was love before it was sex, and long afterward, too. I will probably have to read this one again and maybe again. Who knows, maybe I will never have a real good hold on this one, but I will say I enjoyed major parts of it even while I am still lost in the mists of the other parts.

Strongly recommended.

I love sunflowers, too.

Wonderful story. Love is love and it's all good! Michael and Ellis grow up together and fall in love, Michael marries Annie, and the three continue together each fulfilling each, then Ellis drifts away.. and then, in time, return. Very moving story. Should be made into a movie. Wonderful read! Magical.

This novel is at times both heartbreaking and lovely. There were so many moments when the beautiful writing just made me sort of hold my breath. It was easy to grow attached to the characters because of the special connection between Ellis and Michael. However, I was a little confused at times because of the jumping around in the timeline. I think I would have appreciated the style more if it was told in a more linear fashion. Also, it was so short! I would have loved to have spent way more time in this world. I'll be interested to see what Winman writes next!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story was very sad, but I found it very beautiful also. There was so much regret that but such a wonderful , lasting friendship.

Didn’t love this book, but some patrons will read it. The author is making a name for herself and will always have a reliable audience. Thank you for sharing this novel.

I don't know why I waited so long to read this book, but now that I have, I want everyone else to read it, too! This is my first book by Sarah Winman, though I am sure it won't be my last. It tells a quiet story, and one that truly moved me. I don't want to get too much into the plot, because there are a few twists I don't want to spoil. That being said, it is a deeply character driven book (my favorite kind!), and while it is tinged in melancholy, it is also a story about love, friendship and identity. I know I won't be quick to forget Ellis, Michael and Annie.

Thanks to Netgalley for supplying me with a copy of Tin Man in exchange for an honest review.

Loved, loved loved this thin little novel. My voice adds to the dozens of others I personally know who are praising it to the skies. Such a great love story that feels at once modern and timeless. Loved it!

Art plays a central role in Sarah Winman’s Tin Man. The novel opens when Dora who is pregnant with one of our main protagonists, Ellis. At an raffle Dora ends up winning and choosing a copy of Van Gogh’s sunflower painting as her prize. Her husband, Leonard, is angry at her for choosing something that he views as worthless. Dora persists and refuses to pick a different prize. She goes on to proudly hang the painting in the family home. In many ways, the painting becomes an extension of Dora and an expression of the care she places on slight thing. Her unborn son, Ellis is born and becomes someone with an inclination towards art, to the dismay of his father. At twelve, Ellis meets Michael when Michael comes to spend the summer with his grandmother, Margot. Shortly thereafter Ellis’ mother is ill and he is estranged from his father who pushes Ellis to embrace more masculine activities instead of art. The boys relate to one another through their lack of feminine, motherly presence and bond by cycling together and sharing an affinity for art. In spite of its brevity, Tin Man’s poetic, carefully crafted language leaves readers feeling deeply moved by Michael and Ellis’ story. We lean towards their story, not unlike Van Gogh’s Sunflowers before they were shorn from their roots

This was great! A quick short read but a lot happens. I enjoyed seeing the struggle between the characters and their friendships and relationships. It was heartbreaking and also heartwarming at the same time.