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Let the Great World Spin
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A rich vision of the pain, loveliness, mystery, and promise of New York City in the 1970s. A radical young Irish monk struggles with his own demons as he lives among the prostitutes in the middle of the burning Bronx. A group of mothers gather in a Park Avenue apartment to mourn their sons who died in
… More »A rich vision of the pain, loveliness, mystery, and promise of New York City in the 1970s. A radical young Irish monk struggles with his own demons as he lives among the prostitutes in the middle of the burning Bronx. A group of mothers gather in a Park Avenue apartment to mourn their sons who died in Vietnam, only to discover just how much divides them even in grief. A young artist finds herself at the scene of a hit-and-run that sends her own life careening sideways. A 38-year-old grandmother, turns tricks alongside her teenage daughter, determined not only to take care of her family but to prove her own worth. Weaving together these and other seemingly disparate lives, McCann's allegory comes alive in the voices of the city's people, unexpectedly drawn together by hope, beauty, and the "artistic crime of the century"--a mysterious tightrope walker dancing between the Twin Towers.--From publisher description.
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Add a QuoteThe person we know at first, she thinks, is not the one we know at last.
I gave them all the truth and none of the honesty.
A row of smokers stood out in front of Metropolitan Hospital on Ninety-eighth and First Avenue. Each looked like his last cigarette, ashen and ready to fall. Through the swinging doors, the receiving room was full to capacity. Another cloud of smoke inside. Patches of blood on the floor. Junkies strung out along the benches. It was the type of hospital that looked like it needed a hospital.
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Add a CommentI loved this book! The lives of a dozen or so New Yorkers in 1974 are brought together by two things: a similarity in their struggles that forces them to realize life continues forward despite incredible loss and by an unbelievable vision, a man walking, dancing, leaping in the air on a wire strung between NYC's twin towers. The day is a pivotal one in their lives. Colum McCann does a beautiful job of weaving their stories together. Brilliant! A masterpiece!
Pretty disappointed with book. Good writing, but found the subject matter pretty bleak. Also, not enough dialogue so found it pretty slow through parts.
2009 National Book Award - Fiction
This book came very highly recommended but I didn't really love it. Some of it was slow and I had to push through it. It skips around from character to character a lot which was a little annoying at times.
It is centered on a true event of a tightrope walker who crossed the NYC twin towers in the 1970s. But the story has almost nothing to do with the walk itself. Instead it is a beautifully spun web of intertwined fates that illustrate the randomness in which we build relationships and become what we are.
a snapshot of a very chaotic but charismatic New York city scene
The man who walks a tightrope between the Twin Towers is a central metaphor for all the vivid characters living similarly precarious lives. Outstanding writing and character development.
Incredibly difficult to get through because it's such a bore.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Colum McCann weaves the stories of several lives together into a beautiful narrative. It tugged on my heartstrings and made me smile. I highly recommend this book!
Rich multilayered narrative with multiple voices.