Tin Man – Sarah Winman
100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: Ellis and Michael spent their teens and early twenties nearly inseparable, but a decade later their relationship is a complex web of unspoken truths and missed opportunities.
Expectation: I honestly thought this was a young adult novel.
Reality: A contender for the shortlist of my favorite adult high-brow gay fiction.
Recommended For: Fans of thematically similar James Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room,” or Philippe Besson’s “Lie With Me.”
Why I Read It:
My Take:
My reasons for picking up “Tin Man” were simply practical. I was heading on a brief road trip and needed an audiobook that ran about five hours and was available for immediate download from the library.
Outside of seeing the novel pop up on #Bookstagram for several years, I went in rather blind, which is good, because I probably wouldn’t have picked another High Brow Gay Fiction™ story so soon after finishing Tomasz Jedrowski’s similar “Swimming in the Dark.”
That story came up a little short compared to great gay novels by Baldwin, Voung, Greenwell and Besson, but with “Tin Man” Sarah Winman has made herself a contender on that shortlist with this deeply engrossing story that often zigged when I expected it to zag.
Instead of keeping our characters wallowing in the shame of “forbidden” love — a common trope in this genre — she instead gives an intimate, almost voyeuristic portrayal of love and loss centered on two childhood friends.
Presented as a stream consciousness collection of present experiences and memories, the book is essentially split between the POVs of Ellis and Michael.
I don’t want to give away much about each person’s story because how Winman peeled back the layers is what kept me enthralled, however the writing is lush, the characters real and the relationships authentic.
Michael’s narrative was more engaging, but there were elements of Ellis’ life that felt more relatable. After devouring this story in two longer sittings over consecutive days, each of them felt more real than most characters, and I needed time to mourn, celebrate and reflect along with them.
While some plot points started to feel a little familiar if you read a lot in this genre, Winman doesn’t burden us with overwriting a situation and instead lets the facts presented speak for themselves — and for the reader/listener to apply their own interpretation.
My only complaint is that, as an audiobook, a lot of concentration is required due to the frequent shifts in timeline. My husband was also listening but not paying as much attention (I was driving, and he was on his phone). He gave up after an hour because he couldn’t keep straight what was happening.
And that’s no fault of Winman’s stellar narration. A trained actor, she knew what each scene called for, but there wasn’t much distinction between the leads. I’m usually not a fan of writers that narrate their own work (unless a memoir), but she is an exception.
This will likely go down as one of my favorite reads of the year.
Rating (story): 4.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 4/5
Formats: Audiobook (library loan)
Dates read: July 30 - 31, 2021
Multi-tasking: Not recommended.
