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    Tin Man: A Novel
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    Tin Man: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Tin Man: A Novel
    Audiobook4 hours

    Tin Man: A Novel

    Published by Penguin Random House Audio

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    From internationally bestselling author Sarah Winman comes an unforgettable and heartbreaking novel celebrating love in all its forms, and the little moments that make up the life of one man.

    This is almost a love story. But it's not as simple as that.

    Ellis and Michael are twelve-year-old boys when they first become friends, and for a long time it is just the two of them, cycling the streets of Oxford, teaching themselves how to swim, discovering poetry, and dodging the fists of overbearing fathers. And then one day this closest of friendships grows into something more.

    But then we fast-forward a decade or so, to find that Ellis is married to Annie, and Michael is nowhere in sight. Which leads to the question: What happened in the years between?

    With beautiful prose and characters that are so real they jump off the page, Tin Man is a love letter to human kindness and friendship, and to loss and living.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMay 15, 2018
    ISBN9780525590828
    Unavailable
    Tin Man: A Novel

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    Reviews for Tin Man

    4/5

    303 ratings37 reviews

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    • 5/5
      The eloquence of Sarah Winman’s writing shines throughout this beautifully written, heart-wrenching short novel. It is about desire, love, loss, friendship and loneliness and, above all, it is about the healing power of beauty. Ellis, the first narrator of this haunting story, is a 46 year old widower whose loneliness causes him to reflect on his life, his relationships and the paths not taken. As a boy he had always wanted to be an artist, partly inspired by a painting of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers which his mother had won in a raffle – a choice which disgusted her husband because he had willed her to choose the bottle of whisky. She supported Ellis in his artistic dreams but, following her death when he was a teenager, his father made him leave school and go to work in the paint shop of an Oxford car-plant. There he learnt to smooth out dents in bodywork so that any imperfections could no longer be felt – an outlet of sorts for his need to do something well, but offering no satisfaction for his true creativity. His reflections on his life cause him to recall intense and vivid memories of the past, of his childhood friendship with his best friend Michael and of their passionate teenage romance when on holiday in Arles. However, on returning home from France Ellis buried these feelings for his friend and, when he met Annie, his future wife, the three became close friends, until this friendship was abruptly severed when Michael disappeared from their lives, to go and live in London. The second half of the novel then switches to Michael’s recollections on the experiences he shared with Ellis and Annie, but also all that had happened in his life during the period he remained out of contact with them. Set at a time of considerable prejudice towards homosexuality, and at the height of the 1980s Aids crisis, this poignant story explores reflections on lives which could have been differently lived. Its exploration of how society so often forces boys to relinquish an overt appreciation of beauty in order to become men, thus suffocating an essential part of themselves, felt at times almost too painful to contemplate. With the huge empathy for people’s emotional pain, their hopes and their disappointments, which Sarah Winman so sensitively demonstrated in her first two novels, she explores so many different aspects of grief and loss, friendship and hope in this hauntingly beautiful story. At no time did I ever feel that there was a wasted, or superfluous word as she brought the past and the present together in such an evocative way, making each of her characters’ emotional struggles so immediately recognisable. She captured an authentic sense of time and place and, with her descriptions of Arles, conjured up visions of a landscape suffused with light and beauty.It isn’t often that I would be inclined to describe writing as exquisite but in Tin Man that is exactly how it felt to me. Although I really enjoyed her earlier novels, I think this is her best and I know that her wonderful characters will remain vivid in my memory for a long time because she managed to bring each one so powerfully alive. I feel that my words cannot match her eloquence or do full justice to this remarkable book, so all I can hope is that they will encourage you to get a copy and discover its thought-provoking, heart-breaking beauty for yourself.
    • 4/5
      A short but bittersweet story about three friends, love and acceptance. When I started reading, I had initially forgotten why I had downloaded this book (just over a year ago!), so was at a bit of a loss in the early chapters about Ellis, widowed and miserable, and his memories of his mother and the childhood friend who becomes so much more. Then Ellis finds a box of personal effects and the narrative switches to Michael, the man who falls in love with Ellis but shares him with Annie, the three of them forming a platonic twist on the Jules et Jim triangle. I was captivated by Michael's life after leaving Ellis and Annie, especially the loss of his lover and his own impending fate. He travels to the south of France, following Van Gogh in a tribute to Ellis' mother Dora, who was captivated by the Sunflowers painting. To my mind, Sarah Winman perfectly captures the two distinct male voices and their disparate lives and personalities - Ellis is industry and rain, Michael is art and sunshine. I wanted to travel around the French countryside with Michael, but perfectly understood Ellis' fear and lack of fulfilment. Beautifully written.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful. Atmospheric. Bitter sweet. Melancholy
    • 5/5
      I have a lot of time for Sarah Winman. I've only read two of her novels but I found them both very satisfying. She seems to have a particularly strong ability to present the right degree of complexity associated with relationships. I am no authority on the matter, but it seems to me that she is very skilled in representing the true nature of relationships between gay (or would queer be a better term?) men. When I compare her observations with Patrick Gale's, I can't help thinking that Gale is inclined to (deliberately?) over-emphasize the positives. Actually, I think this story has much deeper levels than I was able to pick up, and I would probably benefit from re-reading it. If I was smarter and more knowledgeable, I would probably give it 5 stars.
    • 3/5
      A quiet novel explores what friendship and love is, and how you learn to survive when people you love die.
    • 4/5
      This is a short novel, just under 200 pages, and it's a simple story, one we've heard before —but it grabbed me from the beginning. I won this through a Goodreads giveaway, so I did not know what to expect, but Sarah Winman's characters soon found a place in my heart. Her storytelling is deep and sad and lovely all at the same time. A fabulous gem of a book.
    • 3/5
      I always feel like I'm missing something when a book gets rave reviews, as this one did, and I just don't get it.
    • 5/5
      This book ate my soul.
    • 4/5
      Apougnant, eloquent story of youth, forbidden love, acceptance & rejection, regret, and above all, the power of love. Two young boys find love, a love that shapes their entire lives. Absolutely lovely!
    • 3/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      Tin Man BySarah WinmanWhat it's all about...Ellis and Michael are friends. The boys grew up together and seemed to develop a very special very private relationship. They maintained contact until...well..until Michael leaves. They stay apart until Michael comes back. Why I wanted to read it...It seemed as though Ellis and Michael were only really happy when they were together. I wanted to see what happened to their relationship throughout the years. What made me truly enjoy this book...Their relationship took different twists and turns. One man married while the other had various personal and sexual relationships. There was sadness as well as happiness in each man’s life. Why you should read it, too...This was a lovely book to read but a difficult book to share. Lovely prose, sad times, sweet times and harsh times. This book had a bit of them all.I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.
    • 5/5
      Simple, delicate, beautiful, heartbreaking.
    • 5/5
      Read it in a day- loved this book. What I have been waiting for
    • 5/5
      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.
    • 4/5
      With spare, exquisitely chosen words, Sarah Winman vividly conveys the depth of human emotions through the unforgettable characters of Ellis, Michael and Alice. This is a tribute to the power of friendship, love and loss. Ellis grows up in a home with an emotionally distant father and a devoted mother. As an only child, he is frequently lonely until Michael comes into his life when they are twelve years old. Their relationship evolves, as told through both their viewpoints, and is altered when Alice marries Ellis. There is a pervasive generosity of spirit in this character-driven novel. The plot is simple, the portrayal by Winman is masterful. I am grateful to Goodreads and the publisher for the opportunity to review this memorable book.
    • 4/5
      This is a soft and quiet book. There isn't much of a plot but it's filled with deep thought and beautiful emotion. It's a book about love and loss and I am glad to have read it. Many thanks to the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
    • 2/5
      I absolutely loved When God Was A Rabbit and wanted to feel the same way about this book, but I didn't. I didn't hate the book, it just wasn't for me. It all began with a painting of sunflowers. I loved the first chapter, but after that it seemed like a totally different book. I didn't love the characters. It's definitely a love story, just a very sad love story. I thought there would be more to the ending. Give the book a try because you may end up loving it. I am looking forward to reading more books by the author.Thanks to NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and the author, Sarah Winman, for a free electronic ARC of this novel.
    • 4/5
      Ellis and Michael are twelve when they meet and become best friends. They cycle the streets of Oxford, spend long lazy days on the beach, Ellis Sketches and Michael writes. They travel. And in between all that their friendships blossoms into something more. But not quite. A decade has passed and Ellis is married to Annie and Michael is no longer in the picture. But what happened to make it that way?I did not like that there were no quotation marks at all in this short book. It was PDF and I could not open it on any program on my computer and the text was extremely small and frustrating to have to zoom in on every page on my phone or tablet so I read it on the kindle app which made the story sometimes confusing. However, I did enjoy this story more than I thought I would. I read Sarah Winman's other books and said that I liked them while I was reading them but forgot them immediately afterwards. But this one is going to stick with me. Ellis and Michael have such a strong, true connection that it is enviable. They, as well as Annie, really came to life. Their experiences were written in such great detail that they felt real. I could see everything as I was reading it. A really great story about living, love, loss and friendship that should make us grateful for the time we've shared with loved ones and for us to remember to enjoy the precious moments together with loved ones who are still here.Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for my copy.
    • 4/5
      A short, beautiful meditation on friendship, loss and the ephemeral natures of time and love.
    • 4/5
      Reached hungrily for Sarah Winman's new novel after devouring When God Was A Rabbit, which I loved. Sadly, Tin Man didn't come close.
    • 4/5
      There's been a lot of hype around Sarah Winman's latest book, Tin Man. As usual I'm way behind the pack and have only just read it but I agree mostly that the hype is deserved.The story is beautifully told by first Ellis, then Michael. They were childhood friends and then they were even closer until they grew apart. Ellis married Annie and somehow things were broken between Ellis and Michael and yet that invisible bond was always there.The first section is Ellis' story. I enjoyed reading about him so much. His story moved me to tears on more than one occasion with the descriptions of his family life and his feelings for Michael and for Annie.The second section is told by Michael and sort of fills in the gaps in Ellis' story as well as telling Michael's side of events.For a book that is only around 200 pages it is incredibly full and so astute. The feelings of the characters are intense and are put across to the reader with the same intensity. It really is beautifully written in the style that I have come to expect from Sarah Winman.My only quibble really is that I lost my way a little with Michael's section and found myself having to go back and read bits again. I'm not sure why it happened but I think his narrative didn't seem to flow as well as it might have done.Nevertheless, Tin Man is a heartbreakingly memorable story of love and loss and one which I very much enjoyed reading.
    • 3/5
      Tin Man by Sarah Winman is about the relationship between Ellis and Michael, and what happens when Ellis meets 'the one' in Annie. The first part of the book unfolds from the perspective of Ellis, and it's a slow, quiet and personal reflection on the past while revealing his present loneliness and grief.The second half of the book is narrated by Michael under the guise of writing a journal, which didn't work in my opinion.The narrative in both sections jumped around in time and despite a handful of helpful chapter headings, I never fell into the flow of the novel. I understand that when we reflect on the past, our memories drift around from decade to decade, but in this case I wanted the author to lead me down a more chronological path.While on the topic of writing style, Sarah Winman doesn't use quotation marks in Tin Man. I always find this style of writing irritating, and while I have seen it work in other novels (Cloudstreet for instance), sadly it was just confusing here.The atmosphere of Tin Man reminded me of one of my favourite books of all time, Stoner by John Williams, but where Stoner succeeds in its perfection, Tin Man falls short. The ending left many things undone, including what happens to Ellis. Tin Man is receiving a lot of hype at the moment, and I understand why readers are being moved by the story - some even to tears - but it was just too disjointed for me. * Copy courtesy of Hachette Australia *
    • 5/5
      this book is so so freaking good, I can't even describe
    • 5/5
      A story of what could have been. Deeply sad, set in when AIDs was ravaging the gay community, and when being gay was a lot harder than it is in 2020. But the central character, who brought two people together didn't ever use any labels on himself. I wish I had friendships like in the book.
    • 5/5
      Heartbreaking and exquisite. Such a lovely read.
    • 3/5
      I picked up Tin Man after reading Winman's Still Life which I thought not only brilliant but so up lifting. Tin Man is just as well written, but coming off the high of Still Life I felt Tin Man to be a real downer. Still Life was a celebration of Friendship Love, where I felt Tin Man was a depressing reflection on Love Lost. Still Life had its fair share of lost, but each lost character was celebrated in a way that left you happy for the characters, while Tin Man's characters struggled with the deaths of friends to where characters took on severe depression and solitude. I also felt Still Life's Ulysses is Tin Man's Ellis. Although Ulysses had suffered loss and missed love he was able to find all the positives in those opportunities, where Ellis couldn't get past the losses. Possibly reading these in the order I did and back to back was not the right way to approach these books.
    • 5/5
      The prism of love found on these pages is so subtle and powerful, that I ended up picking up and re-starting this slip of a novel twice before I finally was hooked. The story of Ellis, Michael and Anne unfolds like a sunflower, slowly, as to better hold your gaze. The three friends seem to have the perfect relationship, until Michael leaves without warning.
      A heartbreaking exquisite book of friendship, love, longing and loss that took a while to pull me in, has now become one that I can’t forget.
    • 5/5
      Compelling....beautifully written, and heartbreaking, all at the same time. Have things changed at least a little for the LBGTQ population? Mayor Pete running for President was a hopeful happening.
    • 5/5
      And Ellis remembered thinking he would never meet anyone like him again, and in that acknowledgment, he knew, was love. He could see his mother concentrating on Michael’s words, how enraptured she was. And when he stopped, she bent down and kissed him on the head and said, Thank you. Because everything she held on to and everything she believed in came together in that unexpected moment. The simple belief that men and boys were capable of beautiful things.What a beautiful book this is. Ellis and Michael meet when they are twelve years old, both reeling from hardship at home. They become inseparable and eventually their relationship turns into something more, something that cannot be fully realized, and eventually their lives move on independently. But neither Ellis nor Michael ever truly let go of this first love. Sections narrated by each man piece together a profoundly moving story of love, friendship, the power of art, and the staggering impact of loss. Exquisitely written, tissues required.And I wonder what the sound of a heart breaking might be. And I think it might be quiet, unperceptively so, and not dramatic at all. Like the sound of an exhausted swallow falling gently to earth.
    • 4/5
      I'm afraid I don't remember too much about this one, having let it set too long between finishing and reviewing. But that tells you something itself, I suppose. There's two men who are best friends and a bit more and the wife of one of them who is really something more to each of them. And it explores that relationship and the time (it starts in the fifties) and how it shaped them. *shruggy man* I know that as I was reading it I was wishing I was liking it better.