BOOK REVIEW: Tin Man by Sarah Winman

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 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.
Tin Man sees Sarah Winman follow the acclaimed When God Was a Rabbit and A Year of Marvellous Ways with a love letter to human kindness, and friendship, loss and living.

Publisher: Tinder Press

Pages: 195

I was a big fan of Sarah Winman’s first book, When God Was a Rabbit, I have somehow missed her second which I need to catch up on but it has been impossible to miss Tin Man as everyone is talking about it and it does have that beautifully distinctive yellow cover.

Tin Man is about Ellis and Michael, they meet as teenagers and this book charts their relationship; the times where they were nearly the same person and the times where they couldn’t be further apart.

I don’t want to give the plot away so this review will be short but I urge you to read this book. Sarah Winman writes beautifully about love and loss; grief in it’s different forms and the true power of love and acceptance. Winman’s descriptions are simple but vivid, I feel she uses language sparingly but this is incredibly powerful.  I felt like there were no wasted words if that makes any sense!

Michael and Ellis are two characters what will stay with me for a long time; their relationship is moving and poignant, this is a book that will truly move you and make you think.

Book Review: When God Was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

This is a book about a brother and a sister. It's a book about childhood and growing up, friendships and families, triumphs and tragedy and everything in between. More than anything, it's a book about love in all its forms.

This book felt very different from anything I have ever read, in a good way, it felt completely original.

When God Was a Rabbit revolves around Elly as she grows up at the end of the 1970s. She has a brother Joe and they have a very normal like with their parents. There is nothing extraordinary about the family but we follow them as world events occasionally come knocking at their door. We all have those conversations, telling each other where we were when we heard that Princess Diana had died and when the first plane hit the twin towers on 9/11. Sarah Winman describes how these events and many others affected Elly and her family.

The book explores relationships, those within a family and those special people that we take in and make part of the family, even though they weren't there from the beginning. The relationship between Elly and her brother Joe is just lovely. I think that Sarah Winman shows that what other people know about us and the memories they have are often just as important as our own. You sometimes need someone to have shared something otherwise it doesn't always feel real.

There is a plot to this book in that there are several pivotal moments but the characters are the key. I didn't need exciting things to be happening around them to enjoy the characters; I think this is what makes the book so special.

I know that When God Was a Rabbit will stay with me for a long time and I think it will appeal to many different readers so I highly recommend giving it a go.

Many thanks to Headline for sending me a copy of this book to review.