This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
From the internationally bestselling author of WHEN GOD WAS A RABBIT comes a heartbreaking celebration of love in all its forms, and the moments that illuminate the life of one man. Sarah Winman, author of the Tin Man, has written a beautifully crafted book which is much more than a simple love story. It is an intricately woven story of so many different relationships.
Two young boys, Ellis and Michael, are thrown together through different circumstances and this is the story of each of their lives. They grow up with their lives woven together and also apart. They discover their sexuality however it is only when Annie comes into their lives that life becomes complicated. It is a triangle of love that is hard to separate but the author, Sarah Winman, manages to write Tin Man in such a way that is both powerful and delicate. She understands the complications of young childhood love and how it can develop into something different but the bond is never broken. Her warmth and compassion for two boys discovering their sexuality is portrayed with such intimacy yet it never crosses the boundary into seediness.
It is a book full of human need where kindness, companionship and touch can be as sexual as the act itself.
Sarah Winman’s descriptive prose of the surroundings are equally as evocative and help to enhance the emotion of the two young boys. As with all relationships they are always influenced by all of one’s friendships – they rarely stand alone.
This book shows how once entwined it is hard for these two men to untangle themselves – the bonds were made when they were 12 years old and cannot be broken.
Tin Man is a short book but its length does not represent its power. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did and I would recommend it as a beautiful, emotive book that will stir the emotions of the most hard-hearted of men.
To purchase Tin Man from Amazon click HERE.
For more book reviews from other CW reviewers click HERE.