A Tinker's Damn

by Darryl Wimberley

In this powerfully affecting novel, Darryl Wimberley explores the relationship between Tink and Carter Buchanan, a father and son whose differences have always been outweighed by a grudging mutual respect and fragile loyalty. But when a brutal murder and a generations-old feud threaten the tenuous balance of their relationship, Carter must soon decide for himself where--and with whom--he belongs. His is a violent world, mired in corruption and racism, a place more inclined to take an eye for an eye than to turn the other cheek, a place where betrayal can seem a lesser evil. Until one betrays oneself. Set in the swamplands and tobacco fields of 1940s Florida, rich in imagery and character, A Tinker's Damn is a forcefully moving novel of revenge, redemption, and the blurred distinction between the two.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Darryl Wimberley is a native Floridian. After high school, he entered the Air Force Academy in Colorado, graduating with a B.S. in International Affairs. While still on active duty, he attended St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and received an M.A. in English literature. He then earned a doctorate of philosophy from the Radio-Television-Film department at the University of Texas at Austin. Wimberley lives in Austin, Texas.

Series:
* Detective Barrett Raines

Reviews

[Tom Fernald · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book based in Mayo and the author was raised in Mayo. Since Cindy is from there and I've spent several decades going, it was very interesting to note the locations and the history. The basic story is very interesting and kept me going back to make it a quick read. Recommended.

[Christine Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tink Buchanan is a worker in a lumber mill with an obsession. He wants to own a certain piece of land, a piece of ground once belonged to his father but that now belongs to Dave Oglivie. Tink has worked his whole life with one goal in mind: to somehow take the land away from Oglivie and have it back in his family's name, which is where he thinks it should be.

Oglivie is a wealthy man. He owns a thousand acres of land. His main source of income is from his tobacco plantings, but he also made a lot of money from gambling. Tink quits his job at the lumber mill and goes into business for himself. He buys up every piece of ground he can get his hands on. When Oglivies' fortunes take a turn for the worse, Tink sees an opportunity to turn the tables. To that end, Tink will do almost anything to regain the old family plot.

Of course, the story is much more complicated than that. Dave Oglivie is also a preacher, but he is known for his temper (which is a bad one). He also has a daughter, who Tink's son, Carter, falls in love with.

The story takes place in northern Florida, a place that has a lot of tobacco farms and lumber mills. The time is at the end of the Great Depression. The tale is filled with love and hate, murder and mayhem, hard work and hard knocks, and plenty of action.

[Shelley Shoemaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good story about a man (Tink) who is trying to buy back his father's land that was lost when he was a little boy. He becomes a very successful businessman running a lumber mill and makes enough money to buy the land out from under the man (Ogilvie) who treated his father so badly when he wasn't able to afford to keep all of his acres. He is basically a good man, promoting the black man who works for him to the position of sawyer and paying him a good wage. The times are not amenable to this type of behavior, and one of the bigoted workers takes it personally that Tink hires Saint over himself. Saint is murdered, but Red makes it look like an accident. Red is promoted to sawyer.

Tink's son (Carter) is sent off to college to become a doctor. He is called home when his father needs his help to seal the deal to buy the land back. Carter finagles a deal with the dirty banker to make it worth the banker's while.

Everything gets complicated when Carter falls in love with Dave Ogilvie's daughter and is willing to turn on his own father to convince Julie's father to let him marry her. Sadly, the Ogilvie's lose their youngest child in a fire when Tink, in a last ditch effort tries to make sure Ogilvie can't raise enough money through his tobacco crops to keep the land. Tink doesn't know Ogilvie's son is hiding in the tobacco crop ready for sale playing with his pet when he sets fire to it.

Julie and Carter end up getting married. Tink ends up getting killed when he goes to bring justice on the man who killed Saint's wife. Carter's boyhood friend and Saint's son grows up and becomes a successful black businessman and he ends the strained friendship he has with Carter by telling him that he won't be able to come help him by driving him around town to do his errands. That's pretty sad, but understandable.