Tiezzi’s Board
Cover art by Jim Root. Carving by Ham Martin.Please enjoy Tiezzi's Board Chapters 1 & 2
"I thought I would do something important, make lovely things, things that people would admire and that would make the world more beautiful." Such was the lament of Joe Carroll, spoken to his wife, Maggie, as they floated in a borrowed rowboat on the Connecticut River.
Grown-ups who have ever been disappointed with themselves will feel a kinship with Joe Carroll, an idealistic woodcarver, husband and father, consigned to carving herbs on kitchen cupboards for ungrateful customers.
But when Joe learns of a huge mahogany board stored in a shed since World War II, it appears his dreamed-of destiny may finally be working out.
What People are saying about Tiezzi’s Board
IndieReader
Review, 4.5 out of 5 rating
Ham Martin’s well-crafted literary novel, TIEZZI’S BOARD, illustrates the importance of social capital and how family and friends–when sharing their experiences and history out loud–can make each other’s lives richer.
Chosen among June, 2022, IndieReader “bests.”
https://indiereader.com/book_review/tiezzis-board/#review
FOREWORD CLARION REVIEW
Tiezzi’s Board is a sensitive novel about human relationships and the many ways that love can be expressed.
In Ham Martin’s novel Tiezzi’s Board, a gifted yet frustrated woodcarver discovers a magnificent mahogany board whose dark history almost destroys him.
On its surface, the novel is about the skills, process, patience, time, and risk involved in making a beautiful table. Joe’s ancient craft is described with care, reflecting love for woodworking. But at a deeper level, the story is about the struggle inherent in raising a craft to an art form and the self-evaluation that meeting such a challenge involves. Joe’s love for the materials and tools of his craft is captured in palpable terms, via the scent of wood, the feel of its smoothness, and the sight of its luminous beauty. These elements, along with his prized collection of vintage tools, are reminders of the craft’s long lineage, evoking what Joe thinks of as a simpler, slower age that would have suited him better.
The novel traverses decades in a flowing manner, and its Christian underpinnings break through as people measure their thoughts and actions against the teachings of their faith. Here, people are unafraid to question whether God is in charge once events spiral out of control. And though death figures large in this story, it is made less significant than the new ways that people find of looking at life, prioritizing forgiveness and love. The result is a sensitive story about human relationships and the many ways that love can be expressed.
In the moving novel Tiezzi’s Board, a man’s dreams clash with his lived realities and love triumphs over despair.
foreword reviews.com
How to purchase TIEZZI’S BOARD
TIEZZI’S BOARD by Ham Martin can be purchased from its publisher's website, Black Rose Writing, from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and best of all, from your local independent bookstore. If you have read Talk Radio and enjoyed it, you can ask the bricks and mortar bookstore where you trade to stock it. They will get it at a normal discount through the large distributor, Ingram.
