Tinkers

Tinkers (2009) is Paul Harding’s debut novel. It delves into the life of a dying man, George Washington Crosby, as he reflects on his past and his family history. The narrative weaves together George’s memories with stories from his father’s life, and it explores the themes of mortality, memory, and the interconnectedness of generations. The novel, which is considered literary fiction, won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the 2010 PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Prize.

This guide refers to the 10th anniversary paperback edition of Tinkers.

Plot Summary

George Washington Crosby is at home, on his deathbed, and he loses himself in memories from his past. George recalls his passion for repairing clocks; he discovered his love for fixing clocks after he bought a broken clock at a tag sale and received an 18th-century repair manual with it. He hallucinates that his house collapses around him and that he falls to his basement workshop, where he is surrounded by clocks.

George thinks about his father, Howard Aaron Crosby, a traveling salesman and tinker who travels across rural Maine with his wagon of everyday goods. Howard has epilepsy, although he and his wife, Kathleen, keep this a secret from their children.