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A review by lelia_t
Tinkers by Paul Harding
5.0
What a stunning book. I think it may demonstrate the true meaning of the word sublime, to radiate without speaking or acting, to move from solid into a vapor state. The words are not extraordinary, yet they are deeply moving. I found myself near tears while my rational brain wondered why.
George Washington Crosby is dying and his memories are entwined with passages from a 19th century book on clock repair, passages written by we-don’t-know-who (until the end), details of his father’s life and memories, and practical moments in the present day such as when Crosby’s grandson gives him a shave. It sounds pedestrian and dull, but as you read, the clockworks of the book, the layers of gears and moving parts, come together as a beautiful and moving whole.
I struggled initially with the descriptions of clock-fixing which set me to snooze, but the book teaches you how to read it and once I figured out that I could feel the language even as I ignored the instruction manual qualities, I went back to the passages that had bored me and they are beautiful - again, the power of language to say more than it says. Just as a book in which clocks figure heavily speaks to the way time overlaps in layers rather than progressing in orderly ticks.
It’s a book that I will reread, or even open to a random page and dip into, over and over again.
George Washington Crosby is dying and his memories are entwined with passages from a 19th century book on clock repair, passages written by we-don’t-know-who (until the end), details of his father’s life and memories, and practical moments in the present day such as when Crosby’s grandson gives him a shave. It sounds pedestrian and dull, but as you read, the clockworks of the book, the layers of gears and moving parts, come together as a beautiful and moving whole.
I struggled initially with the descriptions of clock-fixing which set me to snooze, but the book teaches you how to read it and once I figured out that I could feel the language even as I ignored the instruction manual qualities, I went back to the passages that had bored me and they are beautiful - again, the power of language to say more than it says. Just as a book in which clocks figure heavily speaks to the way time overlaps in layers rather than progressing in orderly ticks.
It’s a book that I will reread, or even open to a random page and dip into, over and over again.