Tinkers

Awards don't always mean greatness. Take the 2004 Tony Awards. Included on the list of nominees for best musical: The Boy from Oz, Wicked, Avenue Q. Who walked away with the Tony? Avenue Q. Seriously? The puppet show won? I will be honest, when it came to town last year, I sold my season ticket to a friend. It isn't that I am not open minded, but I know what happens in the show, and I have no desire to see it. But someone, well, many people thought it deserved the Tony. Greatness means different things to different people.

Awards don't always mean greatness. I just finished the book "Tinkers." It won the 2010 Pulitzer prize for fiction. It took me a month to read this book. I had a difficult time with it. I will be honest - the writing is beautiful. If I were reading for the quality of the text, I give the book a thumbs up. The story is touching when I understood it, I cried a number of times. The story would get a thumbs up too. But the writing style mixed with the story - thumbs down. I just had a hard time reading and enjoying the combination so to speak. I was confused a lot. There are two stories told in the book and sometimes, I wasn't certain which story I was reading. Greatness means different things to different people.

I gave the story 3 stars on GoodReads, again because I loved the writing and I liked the story, I just didn't like the book. I wouldn't scratch this one from your list if you have it as a "to-read" book. Just be ready to give it some time. Or maybe find the time to sit and read the 200 page book in one sitting, that would be a good idea which could help reduce confusion. I just can't find that kind of time anymore.

Enjoy!