Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (2010-07-05)

NYT reviewer Jonathan Mahler called Let the Great World Spin "...electric and profound." I can't think of adjectives better at describing this wonderful book. How refreshing it is to read really good writing, literature if you will, that is both exciting and meaningful, a book in which the author ensnares you before you are really aware that you're caught in his fictional lair. To then add an emotional wallop to it, is an act of creative excellence that left me heartbroken, but not depressed (again borrowing adjectives from reviewer Mahler). While the situs of the book is NYC in the mid-1970s, and while many call it a book that captures the soul of the city, ultimately it is about people and their underlying stories which could occur anywhere in the world. Yes, the book is about love, loss, grief, and the unpredictability of life, but it also about living through it all and not just coping, but coping well, and in that sense it is uplifting.

For me, this book contained a number of interesting smaller stories cleverly linked by the spectacle of Phillipe Petit's high wire walk between the twin towers back in the 1970s. Early on in the book I wasn't too sure where the story was going . . . it seemed a bit disjointed at times . . as if the author was making it up as he wrote without having a definite beginning,middle or end in mind.

Nevertheless some of the characters were very well drawn and overall it was worth the read.

This book reminded me very much of, "Bonfire of the Vanities," by Tom Wolfe. McCann catches the diversity of a big city and the cultural and ethnic characteristics of the people living there. It's all tied together by the extraordinary daring of a Frenchman who walked on a tight wire between the twin towers in 1975. McCann has a fine ear for speech and is as comfortable speaking as a Park Avenue socialite as he is as a prostitute working the streets of the Bronx. It's a compelling story crafted by one of the better living authors.

This was an amazing book, especially if you remember Sept 11th and the demise of the Twin Towers in NYC. And, if you've seen the amazing documentary, "Man on Wire", it's even better. In fact, I would suggest renting and watching that movie before reading the book as it will provide a richer context to your read.

The writing captured me from the first page to the last. And, even though it seemed a bit contrived at times, the two degrees of separation between all the characters was actually both intriguing and entertaining. The book is so well-written. There are sentences and paragraphs you want to underline and savor later on their own.

I also found the book to be a fast read because it is so engaging. I've recommended it to several of my friends as I found it a "must read".

McCann has a brilliant ability to draw readers right into each character's life and emotions. It can be exhausting to feel so much! Perhaps this book was a little long but so very clever and well named.

I probably would never have selected this book on my own, but it was chosen by my Book Club. I was one of the very few in my Club that liked it. I found it to be entertaining and believable. I actually remember reading about the tightrope incident in New York back in the '70's, so I think that made the book a little more interesting for me.

Seriously, who doesn't love New York. Sure, maybe on the surface we sometimes think it's too much. Too "out there". Too "if only they would behave". But deep down, aren't we all a little proud that there is such a thing as New York. With all its quirks and bravado. This book is an amazing feat, as it takes you to Manhattan on the day that guy walked between the Twin Towers. Then the symbol of nonsensical capitalism, now the symbol of freedom. The book guides you through different stories (much like the movie 'Crash' does) of different people. One more gripping than the other. They all have the 'Man on the Wire' in common - but also much more. I was gripped by the book.

Finally a novel that meets all the ridiculous expectations and merits all the awards. McCann is an artist and a craftsman, with an uncanny ability to use language and meter and structure to project intense emotion. He deeply inhabits his broad cast of characters, giving them the not-always-overlapping gifts of life and humanity. He also illuminates New York City from its gritty, mean, harder-to-love past, before Disney and New Urbanism and Giuliani and Sex And the City revitalized it. Push past an opening chapter that feels weaker and less lively than the rest of the story; it is a necessary foundation, if sometimes less deft than the brilliance that follows.

McCann does an incredible job of reaching into the souls of the main characters, two brothers from Ireland, who get involved with New York Cities most debased citizens, the street walkers of the Bronx. He created a rare hybrid in modern literature- poetic prose driven by an exciting narrative. The only false note was a plot point where dry oil paintings left out in the rain run. Any artist knows oil or even acrylic is not water soluble when dry. He should have done his homework.

Susanne Forestieri

Here is some superb and sublime writing. I found the first few chapters almost hypnotic in style, tone and substance. I was drawn right in.

It's a wonderfully crafted, structured and woven piece...however, the unrelenting and often puzzling introduction of new voices distracts and eventually dilutes the novel as a whole. The threads between them become more tenuous, the voices less real...and then there's a leap forward in time and space that breaks the thread entirely.

Still very much worth reading. But a pity: a more focused edit could have elevated the novel to another level.

Few writers can capture in words the pain and beauty of life around us. With his words McCann draws images and paints pictures as vivid as any artist on canvas. The saddest part of this book is that it must end. Can we find a replacement as compelling and engaging as this? It won't be easy.

National Book Award-winning author Colum McCann has just published his 8th book. Let the Great World Spin is his seventh. A fictional work, it has been called the most cathartic of the post-9/11 works of literature. McCann uses skillful and powerful prose to create realistic fictional characters whose lives have all been touched by violence and loss, and whose lives link together in surprising ways. The setting is New York, 1974. The novel is set in motion by a real-life New York happening--a tightrope walker who walks between the World Trade Towers. There's even a haunting photograph, showing the tightrope walker in the foreground, with a plane in the background that appears to be heading right for one of the Tower buildings. But wait! This novel is set more than a quarter century before the carnage of 9/11/2001, which is never mentioned, but that underscores the happenings in this plot. McCann has written a book with memorable fictional characters and realistic dialogue to present ways of dealing with the violence and loss that characterize our times. It is masterful.

We discussed this in my book club and the consensus was mixed. Although most of us appreciated the post-modernism structure, it left some of us with a sense that there was a lack of cohesion. Characters were integrated sporadically. It reminded me of the movie "Crash," in some ways. There's always a subculture in society, and there are always outliers, but that doesn't always make for a great novel.

A look at life in Dublin, the Bronx and Manhattan from the points of view of two brothers - on very different tracks. Very well written. It would actually make an extremely good movie if cast properly and not "hollywooded up".

I had a somewhat difficult time figuring out where this story was going. So much so, that I almost put this book down and walked away from it, but in the end, I'm so very glad I stuck with it. This is a story set in NYC in 1974 and about a dozen people whose lives intersect on one fateful day. On this particular day, a tightrope walker has decided to take a hike on a wire stretched between the two towers of the World Trade Center. Of course, being in NYC, quite a number of people saw this man take this walk and some of these people will actually be affected in one way or another by this act. The author spends a great deal of time setting up the basic premise of the story (which is where it almost lost me), and creating one character, only to switch courses mid-stream to talk about a very different character. It didn't really seem to make sense in the grand scheme of things, but if you stick with it you will see a pattern emerge and the story will develop from there. If you're looking for thrills and spills, action and adventure, then you probably want to look elsewhere because this story is totally NOT about that sort of thing. It really is a great little story and I was sorry to see the last page spring up on me so quickly.

Captures NYC amazingly well in the mid 1970s. While I am glad I read this book as chosen by my book club, I can't say it was a page turner for me. I agree with the mixed literary reviews this book received. While it may have been brilliant in parts, whole sections could have eAsily been edited out without any loss to the narrative.

This was such a well written book, it was amazing how he was able to weave the stories together in the most unusual ways. It always surprised me. The book was very emotional and I was involved with the story right away. This book is very impressive, Colum McCann was able to tell two stories at one time and you are able to see both pictures at the same time, that is good writing. I would have liked the ending to be expanded a little. It seems authors will write detailed accounts during the begining of a book and as it ends there is the feeling I have to get out quickly, if I were an editor I would have encourage some authors to take a little more time before they leave the story; not a lot but a few more paragrphs would do it. In spite of this flaw I would higly recommend this book.

I remember being amazed at the tightrope walk between the then brand new twin towers. And this book, that starts out with the walker is just amazing! The voices of all the characters are interesting and you fall in love with most of them. This is my first book on Kindle and I read it fast. I'll have to go to the bookstore and flip through to the chapters and see what drawings I missed. I din't want to miss anything about this book - it is that good.

Wonderful when you tink about how eveyone sees the same thing in so may different ways. People pass by and you meet and te never see each othe again but you have touched their lives and been changed by that.

It was a bit confusing at the beginning, because it is not a simple narrative with a beginning and an end, happy or otherwise. It is beautifully written and every character (there were many!) is brought to life in an absorbing, gripping manner. It is a tapestry of New York City woven skillfully. The reader should continue reading; you won't regret it.

I bought this book after the store named it the best book of 2009. I found this a very difficult book to get through -- especially the first two-thirds of it. Having said that, I'm glad I persevered.

So many people making so many tragic choices! It wasn't pleasant reading, and it was pretty frustrating and depressing for long stretches. There were a few bright spots though. Let me just talk about a few of the characters that I found most compelling, without giving too much away.

Corrigan is a priest, but his faith in God is twisted and pretty toxic. He never seems to understand God's extravagant love, grace, and mercy. I was pulling for him to realize how much God loves him, but I don't think he got there. There is a lot about Corrigan to admire though. He took care of the lowest of the low -- strung out prostitutes -- but it felt more like they were dragging him down, rather than him lifting them up. Still, there is good food for thought in Corrigan's story. What does faith in action look like?

Gloria is an educated, African American woman, who lost three sons in Vietnam. There is a lot to respect and love about Gloria. She takes in two young girls after their mother dies in a car accident. The little girls, it seemed, were doomed to repeat the mistakes of their prostitute mother and grandmother. But Gloria rescues them from all of that. We get the satisfaction of seeing that she really did change the trajectory those girls were on. She saved them. In a tangential storyline, Gloria befriends a woman from a Park Avenue penthouse who was deeply depressed by the loss of her own son in Vietnam. In a way, Gloria saves her too. It begs the question, does anybody in your life need to be rescued today?

In the final one-third of the book, I think we see evidence of the power of love and kindness. It's the end that makes it a worthwhile read.

Colum McCann is a brilliant writer able to understand and present many different cultures. The book is a snapshot of New York in 1974 revealing people from many different social and economic backgrounds. There is a common thread between all the people who are leading very different lives. Their stories are told with great compassion and insight.

While each character is very deeply explored, the book tends to be too wordy for me. I like a little more action. As each chapter jumps from one character to another, it was a little hard at first figuring out which character was talking. It is interesting how the characters are inter-related.

Colum McCann offers the reader a glimpse into many people's lives through masterful storytelling. Our book club read it, and every person gave it a 10. McCann wrote a piece of literature, a rare gem in modern fiction, when so many writer crank out books designed to sell and not enlighten.

Beautiful, beautiful book. The writing pulls you in. The words read like music. And the interweaving of the stories is masterful. Anyone interested in beautiful, poignant, human writing needs to read this modern masterpiece.

This book follows multiple characters in multiple places, but then it ties them all together at the end. It is delightful and deep at the same time and centers around the true events of the day in 1974 when Phillipe Petit did an unauthorized wire walk between the Twin Towers. I believe Colum McCann is attempting to show how each of us walks our own death defying tightrope every day. We may walk it alone and without fanfare, but it is just as frightening and ultimately exhilarating as Petit's walk. To quote McCann- "I sit here thinking about how much courage it takes to live an ordinary life." We do not all have to perform grand, exciting public feats to be heroes. There are millions of heroes living ordinary lives.

The style of writing was not my favorite. For lack of a better description, I would say it was too choppy in the way it jumped from one story to another before it arrived at the relationship of the characters. However, I think that the character development was good for the most part. Not my best read but by far not the worst.

I liked the story and eagerly pursued the book until done. But the stream of consciousness narrative style ran on a bit too much for my liking.

That said the insights in the book and the observations were rich and innovative.

Colum is a strong writer who captures humanity with humanity.