Tinkers

Tinkers by Paul Harding is the story of two "tinkers" - George, the son, who "tinkers" with clocks. And his father Howard, who is an itinerant tinker, leaving each morning from home with his horse and wagon, and returning each night from his futile attempts to make a living. 

The story is well-told, moving back and forth between George, who is dying in a hospital bed in his living room, and Howard, an epileptic, who tries to keep his infirmity from his children (although I have to admit I did get a bit confused at times as to which character was being discussed, but this was due to my need to rush through the book without slowing down to allow the book to unfold as it should).

The book is full of wonderful language (each word is critical to create a scene or feeling), although at times I found myself skimming through the description and musings and descriptions of epileptic seizures to get to "what happens next." Despite the sometimes tedious language and descriptions of types of clocks, I found myself moved by the two stories. 


This book was full of smells, nature, beauty and death. Three generations of men experiencing confusion and amusement are fused together with words of nature, grief and soul. There are probably depths I couldn't actually grasp or understand, as it was hard for my brain to consistently concentrate on the story and descriptive narrative. 


Despite the hard-going nature of the read I can still appreciate that the book is wonderful. I wouldn't normally choose this sort of writing as I don't have the patience for it. But this is a book to be read slowly, take the time to absorb the poetry and use of the words, savour the images created and allow the book to take you on a journey.


Winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2010, this is not an easy read (thinking of death is never easy), but is a beautiful book that felt more like a long, very descriptive and unusual poem.