Staff Pick
Charlie Crosby (grandson of Tinkers' George Crosby) is trying to come to terms with the death of his daughter, Kate, which he does in an unusual way. He recreates her in many different incarnations: he imagines her in a scenario, has an interaction with her, loses her again, then starts the process over and over again. Overwhelmed by grief, Charlie shuts down completely and his entire life begins to disintegrate. Before long, he is utterly broken, stuck in an abyss from which he cannot extricate himself.
Enon doesn't need the lush poetry which is so prevalent in Pulitzer-winning Tinkers; its searing subject matter really needs the raw, visceral, and vulnerable language that Harding uses here. Far from being depressing, Enon is a deeply moving character study of a man on the brink of his own personal apocalypse. It is beautiful. Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
Hailed as “a masterpiece” (NPR),
Tinkers, Paul Harding’s Pulitzer Prize–winning debut, is a modern classic.
The Dallas Morning News observed that “like Faulkner, Harding never shies away from describing what seems impossible to put into words.” Here, in
Enon, Harding follows a year in the life of Charlie Crosby as he tries to come to terms with a shattering personal tragedy. Grandson of George Crosby (the protagonist of
Tinkers), Charlie inhabits the same dynamic landscape of New England, its seasons mirroring his turbulent emotional odyssey. Along the way, Charlie’s encounters are brought to life by his wit, his insights into history, and his yearning to understand the big questions. A stunning mosaic of human experience,
Enon affirms Paul Harding as one of the most gifted and profound writers of his generation.
Praise for Tinkers
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize
and the PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship for Writers
An American Library Association Notable Book
“In Paul Harding’s stunning first novel, we find what readers, writers and reviewers live for.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“There are few perfect debut American novels. Walter Percy’s The Moviegoer and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird come to mind. So does Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping. To this list ought to be added Paul Harding’s devastating first book, Tinkers.”—NPR
“Tinkers is truly remarkable. It achieves and sustains a unique fusion of language and perception. Its fine touch plays over the textured richnesses of very modest lives, evoking again and again a frisson of deep recognition, a sense of primal encounter with the brilliant, elusive world of the senses. It confers on the reader the best privilege fiction can afford, the illusion of ghostly proximity to other human souls.”—Marilynne Robinson
“A novel that you’ll want to savor . . . I found reading it to be an incredibly moving experience.”—Nancy Pearl
About the Author
Paul Harding is the author of the novel Tinkers, which won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowship for Writers. He was a fiction fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and has taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, Harvard University, and Grinnell College.