Tin Man Book Review

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For fans of: A Little Life, The Heart’s Invisible Furies, Normal People, One Day

I picked up Tin Man at Gay’s the Word bookshop in London and it’s one of those ones I’d seen around a lot, so had always been intrigued. Trying to explain what this book is about is actually a bit tricky, so instead, I’ll leave the blurb here for you to read: It begins with a painting won in a raffle: fifteen sunflowers, hung on the wall by a woman who believes that men and boys are capable of beautiful things. And then there are two boys, Ellis and Michael, who are inseparable. And the boys become men, and then Annie walks into their lives, and it changes nothing and everything.

I think Winman intentionally made the blurb a little ambiguous, because that’s what the book’s like too. The plot of Tin Man is more about what’s not said, than what is, and I love the painful ambiguity because it’s so real. There are often things we find hard to admit, and perhaps never say at all, so the reflection of that in this book is intoxicatingly compelling.

I’ve spoken a lot about how I like books about “Ordinary People” (I wrote a list of ones I’d recommend if you want to read them!) and this book is certainly one of them. There’s something so compelling and raw when reading about people you could find next door, or run into in the supermarket. It makes the book plausible and somehow more thrilling because it’s relatable. Ellis, Michael, and Annie are all flawed and that’s what makes them likeable.

In terms of the plot, as this is more character-driven, the actual storyline to me at least wasn’t that important. However, Winman does use the opportunity to highlight LGBT issues of the time such as the rise of HIV and homophobia experienced from just about everyone. The use of this allows the book to become important while still ensuring it’s about their stories rather than the circumstances in which they happen.

I don’t want to call this story tragic, but it certainly has a tinge of melancholy running through it. The pain of Ellis and Michael’s relationship, and in the later years, lack there of gives the plot a taint of that and the phrase “what could have been” comes to mind a lot. If you’re a fan of A Little Life, or Normal People, then you’ll like Tin Man and I commend this book for reminding readers once again of the beauty (and tragedy) of what it means to be human.