Beautiful and touching. It felt like an honor to walk along with these characters and share moments with them. At times this was heartbreaking to read but it felt like an important story to read. Five Stars.

"Tin Man" started out as a puzzling book to me. I couldn't quite figure out what was going on or where it was going. A very sad man living a lonely life. Slowly the details leaked out about the past history of a once-happy trio of two boys and a girl with a childhood history. The story moved a bit slowly to me, but the prose was lovely, and the art and literature references enhanced the story.

This is a quiet novel that explored a myriad of emotions. It’s short but it packs a punch and was a good palate cleanser from the fast paced thrillers I’ve been reading lately.

I have read many books about sensitive young Englishmen over the years, beginning with Brideshead Revisited, and Tin Man easily slips into this category. Add to that the love triangle reminiscent of Jules and Jim and you have a book that is not particularly original.
The writing was clear and insightful but I found the format -- at least in the e-book that I acquired from NetGalley -- to be confusing. Much of the exposition comes in a journal written by one of the young men and read by the second, and I did have to keep reminding myself of which one was writing and were the comments expressed on the page from the journal or the narrator. However since I never really connected with any of the characters, I did not work too hard at resolving this confusion.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get in to the style of writing for this book. After 30% I still didn’t understand anything about what was happening.

TIN MAN by Sarah Winman is a tender, delightful read with a memorable last sentence.... "It was a moment in time, that's all, shared with strangers." This novel gives us the story of Ellis, Michael and Annie. Spanning decades between post-war 1950, through the beginning of the AIDS crisis and the mid-90s, TIN MAN explores the lives of two young men who have lost their mothers, who find a special friendship and a sense of family. Sarah Winman's writing is gentle; yet, she evokes strong emotions in this short book which deals with art/beauty and passion, with kindness and insensitivity, with love and loss.

Another LibraryReads selection for May, TIN MAN was short-listed for the Costa Novel of the Year Award and received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

I ended up reviewing this title for AudioFile magazine instead of reading it in print. For my review, see their website or print magazine (will be available in June)

In Oxford, England, it is 1996, Ellis is recovering from the loss of his wife. He wanted to be an artist but his father forbade it. He works in a paint shop. The novel then goes to his memories of his childhood friendship with Michael, who becomes his best friend. Later Ellis will meet his future wife, Annie. The three of them develop a tight friendship. We flow to Michael’s memories which first tells us of his grandmother’s death. Michael remembers a trip to France that he went on with Ellis. They become lovers. As the novel continues you learn more about Michael’s life.

This is at times a story about surviving the circumstances of their life and a love story. It is also about loss and loneliness. The novel is powerful, happy and sad. It’s a novel that I don’t typically read but I’m glad I did.

I really liked the premise of this book and for the first half I was completely engaged with the story and Ellis's character. I felt for him and wanted to find out what happened to bring him to such a lonely place in life. I didn't mind the lack of quotation marks for speech but readers should know this does read like a free flowing narrative, like someone is telling you the story after it happened and there are no breaks for dialogue or even changes in time. At about the halfway point when there's a revelation, the story started to become repetitive for me and the changes in narrative and points in time became confusing. I didn't like feeling that I wasn't sure who was speaking and from which point in time. Also there was quite a lot of setting and descriptive details, so much so that I found myself skimming. My main issue with the second half of the book was that nothing really happened and it seemed filled with descriptions rather than substance.

This is a touching story about friendship, love, and connections that never die. For a short book, the story about Ellis and Michael's shows how separation and time can never sever a beautiful friendship.

I would put their story somewhere om thre spectrum between sad and heartfelt. It does pull on your heartstrings, though.

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
Ellis Judd – I found myself immediately drawn to Ellis Judd. There was such sadness around him and I had to discover why. At the story’s onset, Ellis was a creature of habit, following the same routines, day in and day out. His life was completely solitary, yet you knew he once had so much more. At the beginning of Tin Man, Ellis reminded me a little of Ove in A Man Called Ove. That feeling didn’t hold up long, but set the book off on a wonderful path. Even as a boy, Ellis was very endearing. He lost his mom at only 14, and had to continue on with a father who didn’t know how to show Ellis love.

“He rarely went to his father’s house when nobody was there, rarely went when only his father was there, truth be told. He did anything to avoid the wordless connection neither felt comfortable with.”

Ellis Judd was a man whose life had been touched by tragedy too many times, yet in between his joy was nearly complete. In this way Ellis reminded me of Cyril in The Heart’s Invisible Furies.

An Interesting, Beautiful Friendship – Ellis and Michael met when they were both 12-years old. These two had much in common. In different ways, both lost their mothers. One’s father was dead, the other’s remote. They shared a love for Mabel, Michael’s grandmother and protector of both boys. As they grew older, their feelings for each other also grew, leaving them both a little lost. When Annie entered the picture, she was like a balm on their friendship, smoothing out the rough patches, loving them both.

That Writing – Sarah Winman has such a lovely way of wording her story. I highlighted many passages and could have easily highlighted many more. Her words touched me over and over, sometimes bringing tears.

“Mabel’s hand pressed firm to my back, holding me up. It’s got cold, she said. Let’s go home and get you warmed. The gesture almost broke me. We settled silently in the back of a taxi, no talk of the beautiful day or who wore what or who said what. I could see her looking at me. She slipped her hand into mine. Waiting for me to crack. That’s how I knew she knew. Had always known. As if she, too, had seen another version of our future orbiting around us. Before its fall to earth on that real and perfect day.”

Winman wisely divides her novel into two narratives, spectacularly woven together. The first, told in third person, focuses on the boys growing up, and Ellis in the present day. The second part, told in first person by Michael, fills in the gaps that grew larger and larger in the first half. This set up left me nearly rabid to know more. Tin Man is a slim novel that many will devour in a single sitting.

What Didn’t
Gentle Start – Some might call the beginning of Tin Man a little slow, but for me gentle is a better word. Ellis is a broken man, and Winman eases the reader into knowing him. For some, this might require a little patience in the early pages.

No Quotation Marks – I hesitate to include this, because it didn’t bother me at all, but I know some it bothers. (Though, honestly, I think we need to let it go! I don’t see this trend going away.)

{The Final Assessment}
I adored Tin Man. The characters, the plot, and the writing were all remarkable on so many levels. I already want to read it again! I applaud Sarah Winman on creating such a beautifully crafted story of love. Grade: A

Note: I received a copy of this book from the G.P. Putnam’s Sons in exchange for my honest review.

For some reason, I thought this was YA, which it certainly wasn't. I thought it would be a light-hearted coming of age story of friendship between Ellis and Michael, and while there is some of that, there definitely wasn't enough. The way the story was told was very convoluted as it jumped timelines and left a lot of gaps. Also, I found the lack of quotation marks when people were speaking to be very confusing; I couldn't tell who was speaking half the time which was distracting. Though the writing was beautiful, it seemed overly described and the settings, with all of the names of places, made it hard to make any real connection for me. There was no real action and I became thoroughly bored. I don't think I would have finished this if not for how short it was and the fact that I was given a free copy for review purposes.

Tin Man is a beautiful book. It is a short read but that doesn't make it any less heart breaking. It is hard to describe Tin Man without giving away spoilers and my advice is if you're interested in Tin Man try to avoid any synopsis that is too detailed - let this book be a surprise to you and you will be grateful for it. Ultimately, Tin Man is a story of love and friendship and its complications.

The book is told from different perspectives, but the perspectives are easy to follow and gives the book depth. The different perspectives also allows you to see the characters different points of view.

When I began the book, I thought it would be a story of Ellis mourning his wife and the story of how he lost her but it is so much more than that. That story alone would be heartbreaking, but what emerges from Tin Man is so much more.

4+ I starts with a picture of Sunflowers, the same painting Van Gogh painted in the French countryside. Dora, pregnant with Michael wins this copy and againt her husband's wshes hangs it in her house. She will look at its sunny face, day after day, whenever things become unbearable. Michael and Ellis meet when they are twelve, become best friends and for a while something more. Than Ellis meets Annie, and the two of them include Michael in their lives. One day Michael disappears, and then a different tragedy strikes, and that is this story.

How can such a slim book in page count hold so much emotion? Not melodramatically told, but simplygood storytelling and some emotive prose. Such a sense of melancholy, lonliness, grief and love fairly leap off the pages. We hear from Ellis, and then we hear Michaels story. At one point Michael writes in his journal,

"I'm broken by my need for others. By the erotic dance of memory that pounces when lonliness falls."

Sounds like words from a poem, and there is much more of those type of lines. This is a story that is both beautiful and sad. That painting, Van Gogh and the sunflowers will have meaning, threaded throughout this story. I would have given this five stars but for the fact that I sometimes became confused with the timeline. This does go back and forth, but for the most part I think it needed to be told this way, foritto make emotional sense. It does end with a sense of hope, bittersweet but hopeful.

ARC from Netgalley.

What a surprise this book was for me! The tales of so many people within one book done so beautifully! When I started reading this book I didn't want to do anything but read this book, but I had to do stuff so I took my kindle everywhere. When I was unable to read I would listen to this story. The vivid description of the landscape transported me to London and Paris! The characters in this book were just beautiful!

Wow what a wonderful book. It's a lyrical and vivid story that will stay with you long after the last page is read. I am not saying much about this one because honestly you really need to read this one for yourself. You need to linger over the pages and savor this beautiful story. And I don't like to give out spoilers ever. Pick it up though. Seriously. It's a rare gem of a book. Happy reading!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Tinder Press and Sarah Winman for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the story of three friends and lovers - Ellis and Michael were young when they met and forged a strong bond that turned into something more. Annie becomes Ellis' wife. This story is told from both Ellis' and Michael's point of view, in different time periods, so that it takes awhile before we understand all the relationships.

This is a short book but the writing is both beautiful and powerful. The gay relationships in the book may turn some off but this is more a story of friendship, first love, courage, loyalty.

This is a gorgeous little book that is so hard to describe. The characters drive all the action, yet not a lot of action exists. Feelings exist, as does history, disease, paintings, words. Two young boys, Michael and Ellis, become friends, fall in love, then fall in friendship. Annie comes along, loves Ellis and forms a triumvirate with the two young men. Ellis is left alone in the world, with only his memories and Michael's diaries to keep him company. It all sounds so simple, yet Sarah Winman takes these intense feelings of youth, of hope, of confusion, of death, of tragedy, of grief, and of renewal, and she melds them into a stunning book that I just could not put down. A bit reminiscent of A Little Life, this is a gorgeous story.

'I said that Ellis and I talked of things in the moment. I said we just existed in each other’s presence, because that’s how it felt. Often in silence. And to a child it was good silence, because nothing felt misconstrued. There was a safety to our friendship, I said. We just fit, I remember saying.'

This is such a beautiful tender story about love, denial, obstacles and the interference of life itself. Ellis and Michael first became friends when they were twelve-year-old boys. What first love is more powerful than that of intense friendship? What is more sacred than finding a kindred of your own choosing? Boys too tender for their bruising fathers, for Michael it is evident he is the wrong sort of boy to his father’s thinking later in the novel when he recalls a memory of his yearning for the mother who left him, and how his father reacts to finding him cozying up to the things she left behind. Such boys were abhorrent to fathers. When Michael’s father dies, he comes to Oxford to live with his grandmother Mabel, with a suitcase full of books, fancying himself a poet he meets Ellis for the first time. A budding artist, whose father has other plans for his son’s future, Ellis shares his inner most being with Michael. Dora, Ellis’s mother, is quick to form a bond with Michael, who so badly needs to fill the space his mother left. When she becomes ill, the boys oversee her remaining days, and both make a promise about Ellis and his future, one that his father is hellbent on destroying.

Caught in intimacy while mourning the loss of his mother, Ellis’s father forces him into leaving school and taking up factory work. Without his loving mother there to defend her fragile son, to make sure he stays in school, he succumbs to defeat and his father’s bullying. Michael is always at his side, the two take a trip to France, steal time for a while and make memories that equally warm and torment them for life. I kept thinking of a famous quote by John Greenleaf Whittier, “Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, “It might have been”. Many things might have been, and the things that happened were on borrowed time.

One moment the young men are in a sort of paradise, as close to one another as their own skin just the two of them, but then there is three when Annie enters the scene. Annie marries Ellis, but for a time they are a party of three. Nothing gets past Annie, and you can’t help but see why Ellis loved her and Michael too. Her love and sense of self was strong enough to give Ellis his private, quiet stolen moments with his best friend Michael. This is a book of hearts running over with love and compassion, while also containing the brutality of others who refuse to accept and love people for who and what they are. It stays with you after you put the book down. Both are lost in reverie throughout the years, questioning and doubting each other- loneliness a constant companion. Michael builds a life of his own, disappears from Ellis but as the story unfolds we know why. He kept a devastating secret too.

Though there is grief, there is beauty and love shining through the darkness. Loneliness can’t be escaped, and from the very beginning Winman guts you in the small quiet rebellion of Ellis’s mother and the painting she wins in a raffle, not just that she chose the prize despite her husbands wants, but the strength it gave her. It comes to mean so much, that painting. It’s a quiet novel, and the big moments all fester in the heart of the things we are denied. There is loss, but there will always be loss when love is factored in. As much as I adored Ellis and Michael, my breath catches for Annie, a truly beautiful soul.

No one guts me quite like Sarah Winman, When God Was A Rabbit broke my heart and I read it back in 2011, I never wrote a review, must remedy that. Not surprised to feel broken again.

Publication Date: May 15, 2018

Penguin Group Putnam

I feel honored to have been able to read something so moving. See full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2366772332