Sunday, July 4, 2010

Let the Great World Spin

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann


I could not put this book down. It's one of few books I've finished that scream "masterpiece." McCann is a master of language, but beyond the phrases and descriptions that had me stopping every few pages to marvel at how he created such visions and feelings with words, he has created incredibly real characters in his latest novel, Let the Great World Spin. It's New York City in 1974 and the World Trade Center tightrope walker is amazing people from every part of the city. And all the characters that McCann includes are brought together by this one event on this singular day. We get some flashbacks to the Irish background of the central character Corrigan, the multi-faceted immigrant and radical monk who spends his life helping the down-trodden in The Bronx projects and we get some glimpses into the future (the last "Book" which takes place in 2006), but the core of this book is how "the great world spins" on this one day. And it is beautiful, amazing, sad, and true.

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