At just over 200 pages, so much is packed into this powerful novel by the author who also wrote Still Life, which I read a few months back. As in that book, this is all about relationships–the love, complexity, loss, and reconnection that sustains us and wounds us. 

It begins with Ellis and Michael, 12-year-old boys seeking home and acceptance and finding it in each other while avoiding fathers who want to toughen them and erase their passion for art and poetry. Later, it’s Ellis and Annie who make a life together where Michael becomes their best friend and champion. Yet at some point he must leave–and then figure out how to return to them. 

The story opens in 1950 Oxford, England when Ellis’s mom is pregnant with him and defies her husband’s demands at a local auction. This also begins the theme of liberation and alternative choices that infuse the story. It ends in 1996 with a lonely Ellis, reflecting on his life. In between, it delves into the AIDS epidemic, life in France, both for artists and for gay men, the power of Venice to reinvigorate a marriage, and the economic reality of working in a car plant vs creating art. 

The most challenging aspect of this story is the timeline: it shifts back and forth in time within Ellis’s perspective and shifts again within Michael’s. I did need to reread several sections this morning after reading the whole novel last night. But the rereading is worth it. Tin Man is a beautifully written story that I did not want to put down. Winman’s writing is understated, emotionally deep, compassionate, and powerful.