The Writer's Life 7/13 - Tinkering

Paul Harding hit a home run with his first novel, Tinkers, which won the Pulitzer in 2010. It is the story of three generations of an American family, told in non-linear style. It has no plot. It is ruminations on the bittersweet mystery of life. The title refers chiefly to the grandson, who is on his death bed after a long, productive life as a clock repairer. The great grandfather was a minister who tinkered with his sermons to the point they baffled his flock. The father was a salesman who rode his horse drawn cart to remote areas of New England, daydreaming, communing with nature ala Thoreau. The main theme is that all of life is one. Only 191 pages, it is not an easy read. For some reason, the author forgoes quotation marks. There are instances that lost me, particularly detailed descriptions of tinkering. There is a lot that is valuable, however, especially the following passage: “Howard resented the ache in his heart. He resented that it was there every morning when he woke up, that it remained at least until he had dressed and had some coffee, if not until he had taken stock of the goods in his cart…if not until his rounds were done, if not until he fell asleep that night, and if his dreams were not tormented by it. He resented equally the ache and the resentment itself. He resented his resentment because it was a sign of his own limitations of spirit and humility, no matter that he understood that such was each man’s burden. He resented the ache because it was uninvited, seemed imposed, a sentence, and, despite the encouragement he gave himself each morning, it baffled him because it was there whether the day was good or bad, whether he witnessed major kindness or major transgression, suffered sourceless grief or spontaneous joy.” Whenever I read something like that, I am reminded of the profound soliloquy at the end of James Joyce’s The Dead. 420 readers have rated Tinkers at Amazon, forging to a consensus of 3.5 of five, which seems right, maybe a tad high. It is still selling reasonably well, at last check 22,941st among the 13 million or so books listed at the site. He has followed it up with Enon, which focuses on the same family. He earned a MFA at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He was the drummer for grunge, alternative band Cold Water Flat, which released one album that went nowhere.

I’m self conscious about my participation at Twitter, as I know it is nothing more than than a vehicle for shameless free publicity. Yesterday I received an email confirming just how ridiculous my presence there is. Kim Kardashian is now following me. Although I have nothing against her, I’m not following back. I’ve never seen her show and doubt it is something I would like. I do enjoy seeing pictures of her, however. There are enough in the newspaper. I don't need to see any online.

And here's a shout out to two pro sportsmen. Kirk Nieuwenhuis has been a classic tweener so far in his baseball career: good at the triple A level, struggling in the majors. He was released twice this year, once by the Mets, next by another team. Reacquired by the Amazin‘s, batting .091 before yesterday’s game, he hit three home runs to provide the margin of victory. It is most likely a blip, but wouldn’t it be great if it built his confidence, got him over the hump, and led to a long stay in the bigs?
And what more can be said about golfer Jordan Spieth, who won yesterday in a playoff, his fourth victory of 2015 and preparation for next week’s third leg of golf’s grand slam, the British Open? He's on such a roll that completion of the feat actually seems possible.

My thanks to Alan who bought a thriller, and to the gentleman who donated three books.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

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