Last week I went to hear Paul Harding read from his novel, Tinkers, at RiverRun Bookstore in Porstmouth, NH. (RiverRun is a fabulous independent bookstore and worth a stop if you are ever in the area) Paul Harding won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction this year. Quite a coup as it’s a first novel and from a small literary press! Paul read beautifully and he was also a wonderful, charming, and funny man. I read this book early in June and after hearing him read, I want to read it again. Like poetry, I suggest reading this novel slowly in a quiet place. It’s not a page turner, no cliff hangers, no murders, car chases etc. Instead, it is a deeply moving, very interior, sort of book. If you have read Marilyn Robinson (Gilead, Housekeeping) you may feel a similarity and in fact Harding has studied with Robinson and admires her greatly. If any of you have already read this, let me know what you think.
Read this one last year. It was intriguing…However, must be read as literature more than for entertainment…similiar to Robinson-yes…