Tin Man – Sarah Winman

A beautiful bright yellow cover heralds what is quite simply a stunningly beautiful novel inside. Tin Man by Sarah Winman begins with a painting of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers being won in a raffle. A story of friendship, love and loss a story of two boys as friends that drifted apart and then reunited. A beautiful story that I found so difficult to leave. Although on short at just around 200 pages once started it was over so quickly as I could not put it down.

 

When both Ellis and Michael were boys they entered each other’s lives and they were inseparable. They were the best of friends. But as they grew life would play its part. Annie then enters their lives and the story then moves on to see Annie and Ellis marry and Michael departs their lives and moves away to London for his own reasons. Time moves on for both Ellis and Michael.

The novel is split between the story through Ellis and then later through Michael and his thoughts as he travels through Europe and the memories he recounts especially the days spent in the South of France with Ellis when for those precious days the two became one. For those brief moments in their life anything was possible.

Sometimes we believe a life plan is set out for us only never to be fulfilled a life that could have been so different. But sometimes life can only but give us a brief glimpse of what could have been and then cruel reality. Sarah Winman writes with such emotion. The characters in Tin Man are just so incredible. Lives so fragile and so precious. All three share the same one aspect and that is love. This is not just writing this is a story set to poetry it is that remarkable. It is all here every human emotion. Love, loss friendship and loneliness. It will move you, it break you and put you back together again. Like a precious vase the human heart is capable of being broken and shattered yet it can also heal.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman is one of those books that will make you realise just how precious we all are. A difficult review to write without giving too much away. It is emotive and powerful. I expect to see this beautiful book in many reader’s books of the year. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

208 Pages.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman is published through Tinder Press and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and all good bookshops.