"Tin Man"

“Tin Man”

Written by Sarah Winman

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 

“Tin Man” is one of those fragile, complicated, and beautiful books that you only come across maybe every five years. It’s hard to read in some devastating parts, but so simple and carefree in others. In many English fiction books, characters are told in both perspectives equally. We see them at their strongest and their most vulnerable. The juxtaposition of true happiness and true emptiness plays out like a pianist’s symphony.

“Tin Man” is about Ellis Judd, a man who has loved and lost: his first love and his second love. His first love was Michael. Ellis’s difficult relationship with his father led to an impossible relationship for Ellis and Michael. It simply couldn’t flourish, with Ellis’s father pulling him into a more masculine and tougher narrative, leaving Michael behind. Ellis eventually marries their friend Annie, causing the three to be in a strange friendship.

The metaphor of a Tin Man is lost on me. I think perhaps it’s meant to signify a person who can love but hides their love away, as if they have no heart at all. Perhaps it is represented by Ellis’s tough, false exterior he has to portray, a straight, happy man.

We are told the story of Ellis, Michael, and Annie in small flashbacks, nearly vignettes. We see the before, the during, and the after of all their dynamics. There are so many parts of this book that left me absolutely speechless, my heart torn into pieces.

Without giving too much away about this story, I think this is one that everyone should read. It gives important insight into the LGBT community, especially in the era of the HIV / AIDS crisis. Sarah Winman’s writing is just enchanting.

I received an advance reader’s edition of this book in exchange that I read and write an honest review.