Sarah Winman

"But it was my humaness that led me to seek, that's all. Led us all to seek. A simple need to belong somewhere."
-Sarah Winman in Tin Man.

Sarah Winman's Tin Man is the conjoining of two stories involving two men whose friendship changes and shifts with the times, their individual choices, and ultimately separates while never fully letting go of each other. It's a story of love, loss, and friendship exploring the idea of connection shaping who people are.

I loved the overarching story despite show more it being intensely sappy and tragic for the sake of being tragic. I found it deeply interesting, moving, and thought provoking at times and although it's extremely corny at times I do think the message being portrayed is beautiful. It wasn't at all what I initially had expected going into reading it and I would definitely recommend it to the right person who isn't too hung up on the writing style.

Speaking of- I absolutely could not stand the lack of quotation marks when people spoke. It caused a surplus of he said, she said, he said, he said throughout the book that drove me nuts and made it unclear if what was written was someone speaking or thinking. The way that this book is written is extremely conversational but it does this in a way where it isn't completely clear what time period it is being told in; sometimes they have dates and places listed and other times the individual stories are separated by ellipses that furthered my confusion when reading because it isn't obvious from the get-go whether the stories being told are in the present or past. show less

“A rusty pub sign swinging in December’s throaty wheeze, and a traumatised parrot too far from home. This was his world now. Somewhere between an atom and a star was his.”

“Art versus humanity is not the question, Ulysses. One doesn’t exist without the other. Art is the antidote.”

“There are moments in life, so monumental and still, that the memory can never be retrieved without a catch to the throat or an interruption to the beat of the heart. Can never be retrieved without the show more rumbling disquiet of how close that moment came to not having happened at all.”

Northern Italy, 1944, the war rages on. A young English soldier, Uylsses Temper is on assignment there and meets Evelyn Skinner, a middle aged art historian. They bond immediately. Once the war is over, this chance encounter stays lodged in Ulys soul. He returns to London and takes up residence in The Stoat and Parrot, with it’s colorful collection of misfits and dreamers. These are his people and he loves each one deeply but cannot quite shake his experiences in Italy.
This beautifully written novel, spans several decades. Many of these wonderful characters will stay with me for a long time. The English author, E.M. Forster also plays a part in the narrative. One of my top reads of 2021. show less

The prism of love found on these pages is so subtle and powerful, that I ended up picking up and re-starting this slip of a novel twice before I finally was hooked. The story of Ellis, Michael and Anne unfolds like a sunflower, slowly, as to better hold your gaze. The three friends seem to have the perfect relationship, until Michael leaves without warning.
A heartbreaking exquisite book of friendship, love, longing and loss that took a while to pull me in, has now become one that I can’t show more forget. show less

While some spend their adult lives running away from their memories of childhood, others embrace them. Sarah Winman's When God Was a Rabbit amazingly captures both such struggles as experienced by Elly who looks back and describes the array of people who loved, harmed, confused, and helped her in her journey through the wilderness of growing up. Through an odd assortment of family, friends, and neighbors, Elly lets us remember that time of childhood innocence before we understood what all show more those people in our lives were really saying, doing, implying, and meaning—the time of see no, hear no, speak no evil because we knew no better. She also reminds us of the pain caused by disappointment in those we trusted, by loss of the dream for the person we could never be, and by sadness as childhood friends and siblings grow away from us. As Elly herself realizes, “Our lives had become tidal: friendships, money, business, love—nothing ever stayed the same.” Yet throughout the story, the belief that love, loyalty, and acceptance will heal a multitude of pains beats a constant refrain.

Central to the story is Elly's brother, Joe, whose homosexuality is incidental to the fabric of relationships woven into Elly's life. The other central figure is Jenny Penny, Elly's only childhood friend whom she must leave behind when the family moves to Cornwall. Although Jenny visits once and they write to each other, they gradually lose touch until the day, years later, when Elly receives a letter from Jenny in prison. Jenny is the beginning and the end of Elly's story. In between are “years of the late adolescent or the twentysomething . . . Wandering years I waste no time in recalling.”

Through various characters Winman presents a kaleidescope of lifestyles that reside naturally within the narrative. The neighbors of Elly's childhood are varied and real, and not always nice. Her portrait of Elly's family that refuses to bow to conformity, and the eccentric people that find acceptance and love in their home, is genuine and inspirational. Elly's voice as she recalls the events and reactions that formed her psyche is honest and engaging. Like Alice Hoffman, there is a magical quality to the story through the presence of Elly's pet rabbit named god, who doesn't abandon her even after his death. I could not put this book down and wish I could read it again for the first time. show less