September's meeting: Tin Man by Sarah Winman

The meeting of Book Club took place on Thursday September 6th in the Library room at The Vic. As well as discussing Tin Man by Sarah WinMan the assembled members were celebrating Abbie and Viki’s birthdays. So as well as the usual lively conversation we were able to indulge in not one but two of Emma’s sumptuous cakes washed down with Prosecco from Phillip, Abbie’s partner who had wanted to surprise her on her special day. Thank you from all the members who were able to make the meeting.

We also agreed that we intended to do the usual Book Swap for our December meeting and that the list of books to choose from next time would be compiled by Jeanette.

This was the third novel by this author and we had recently read “When God Was a Rabbit” which had received very favourable reviews but one of the group felt that it was perhaps a bit too soon to read another one. On reflection she might have had a point but that did not seem to be the view of the rest of the group who all were positive about the book, even Emma who was still reading it, haven taken time out to perform her Domestic Goddess cake making activities.

The novel is a beautifully crafted story of a love triangle of two boys and a girl, with interwoven themes of loss, loneliness, grief and lives that could have turned out differently.  Sarah Winman has a style that splits her novels into different parts. Often focusing on one particular character. In this story we see Dora---- Ellis’s mother who   makes a very public display of going against her husband’s wishes and claiming the prize of a print of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers instead of a bottle of whiskey at the local community centre.

“It was her first ever act of defiance. Like cutting off an ear. And she made it public “

This sets the scene for an ongoing theme in the novel about the therapeutic qualities of art. I personally loved the references throughout the story. As with her other novel the story is narrated by two different characters. The first by middle aged widower Ellis who works the night shift in the paint shop of a car factory.  It was Ellis’s mother who won the painting and wanted her son to pursue his artistic talents. When we first find him he is working on an assembly line making perfection from car body work and in pain from the loss of his wife Annie. I thought the title Tin Man referred to the character in The Wizard of Oz who was without a heart, but in fact it refers to the nick name given to the work done to a high specification in the factory.

Sue was unable to join us but sent her comments, again echoing most of us about the skill of the writer Pauline commented that her  style and this book was “ effortless “ to read.  She also commented that Ellis’s part of the story told in the third person and Michaels in the first. We wondered if this changed the impact for the reader, some felt that Michael’s perspective was more powerful?

The second part switches to Michael’s perspective; it fills in some of the gaps left earlier and includes a beautifully described trip to the south of France and the memories of a more intimate relationship with Ellis. As with the other novel we read recently Winman includes a significant social event. This time it is the AIDS crisis of the 1980s. In her previous book events became centred on the tragedy of the Twin Towers attack of the eleventh of September. We seemed to be in agreement that these “real “events were woven in quite seamlessly. Emma had also commented on the similar techniques that Winman seems to employ in her writing style, splitting the narration up between different characters, which she felt was a positive strategy.

Her descriptions of the AIDs epidemic and its impact were told with compassion and care, and explained what had happened during Michael’s absence. Winmans writing is powerful but not overblown.  Debbi’s comment perhaps put this in perspective. She had also been reading The Tattooist of Auschwitz as part of her holiday reading and commented that Tin Man seemed like a breeze in comparison. Abbie had also read Tin Man while on holiday and loved it but was sad to come home where things were back to normal. I think this is because the descriptions of the south of France were so evocative. It made you actually feel like you too were enjoying the sun and smells of a first holiday abroad

To sum up most of the group had enjoyed this novel, and even though it is a slender tome, through the skill of the writer it seemed to contain a great deal in terms of a memorable and beautifully executed story.

We awarded it 4 stars.

The next meeting will be Thursday October 4th when we will discuss Heartburn by Nora Ephron. Venue TBC.