Tinkers
Paul Harding
Read it in
paperback, little white book weighing in at 191 pages.
This year, my
reading list is to be bolstered by ten Pulitzer Prize winners, this was the
first one I selected. Paul Harding was
actually a drummer in a band called Cold Water Flat. I can't find any of their music but
apparently they were popular in the circles they rolled in. Not so popular that Mr. Harding didn't have
another job, an illustrious one at that.
The illustrious second job happens to be teaching English at Harvard and
writing Pulitzer's on his day off. He
also enjoys self-teaching himself theology and has branded himself as a
'Self-Taught Modern New England Transcendentalist.' Whatever the hell that means. I should start branding titles for myself
too. Maybe after I win a Pulitzer. Anyways.
This novel was awarded said above prestigious prize in 2010 as well as
the Brigham Prize, Center for First Fiction award, best novel in 2009 as listed
by Publishers Weekly, Amazon, NPR, and the Library Journal. The boys of 'Cold Water Flat' would be so
happy for him.
So what's all the
fuss about? Well, George Crosby is
dying. He's got days, then hours before
he meets his demise. Not that he knows
it, he's too busy recalling the lost days of his youth, including his father's
challenges, and some of his grandfather's challenges during his countdown to
oblivion. It can be pretty depressing
actually but some of it is absolutely beautifully written. A lot of the chapters encompassing the woods,
the snow, and George's fathers dealings with the locals were some of my
favorite. Also thoroughly enjoyed the
bits seeded throughout the story about the clocks of ancient time and also the
efforts of love to repair an old clock.
For my first
Pulitzer it wasn't terrible, not that I went into it with any
expectations. Wonder what the next
selection will be.
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