Finished January 28
Tinkers by Paul Harding
This little gem of a book was one I received with my Indiespensable subscription from Powell's. It has two narrators, George Washington Crosby, an elderly man lying on his deathbed and observing the world around him as well as reminiscing about the past. George was a machinist and took up clock repair after retirement, repairing all types of old clocks in his basement workshop. He is surrounded by his family: his wife, daughters, and grandchildren, as well as his sister.
From a time decades in the past, we also see the world from the point of view of George's father, Howard Aaron Crosby, who was an itinerant tinker, travelling the countryside with a mule and wagon. Howard was an epileptic and married to a woman who wasn't happy with her lot in life.
As we see their lives through their own lenses, we see not only how they got to where they ended up, but also how they viewed their own relationship as father and son, the commonalities between generations.
There is also a relationship to nature here that runs through the book.
The writing is lyrical and I found myself slowing down to better enjoy it, and take in all that it was imparting.
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