Tin Man (Winman) - Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions
1.Tin Man is narrated by both Michael and Ellis, each in a different section. What was this reading experience like? Whose story is this?

2. The female characters in the novel are pivotal in Michael’s and Ellis’s lives—we see this through Dora and her kindness to Michael, Mabel taking in Ellis, and then Annie taking on Michael as almost an integral part of her relationship with Ellis. In what ways do these three women underpin Michael’s and Ellis’s lives, and their relationship?

3. What do you think the title, Tin Man, refers to? Discuss its possible meanings.

4. Discuss the use of the color yellow throughout the story, taking a close look at the van Gogh painting that features in the book.

5. How is Michael and Ellis’s relationship affected by the time and place they live in? Consider their childhood in Oxford, their summer in France, and their adult lives after Michael returns.

6. Discuss the different ways that grief and mourning are portrayed in Tin Man. Think about the reactions of Ellis, his father, and Michael after losing someone they love.

7. Ellis and Michael each describe their summer together in France in 1969. Discuss this pivotal time period and its impact on the characters, as well as your experience reading about it from two different points of view.

8. How does Annie connect with both Ellis and Michael? How did you see her role in the trio?

9. What do you imagine happens to Ellis after the close of the book? What kind of life do you hope he lives?

10  Do you think Tin Man is ultimately a sad story? A hopeful one? How did youfeel after reaching the end of the novel?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

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