Let the Great World Spin

An enjoyable read. Some places it went on a bit too long but the way he switched narration voices is close to a masterclass. Brought back to mind an episode in NYC that had faded from memory.

LOVED this one, just an amazing read!!

This is the kind of book that spins me like the title. How Colum McCann is able to juggle his stories and have his characters intersect with one another with such finesse is truly remarkable.

I was expecting to like this book a lot more than I did. When it was selected for book club, it was described as a book about life in New York in the 1970s. Well, I've always wanted to live in New York, so I was really excited to start it, but it read fairly slowly until about halfway in. “Spin” is a series of vignettes portraying snapshots of the various characters' lives. All of the stories weave in and out of each other, and culminate on the day Philippe Petit walked a tight-rope between the World Trade Center Twin Towers. (That was the most interesting part; shortly after finishing the book, I watched the documentary Man on Wire, which chronicled the journey to that walk and was MUCH more enthralling than this book.)

And, finally, my favorite read of the week, the month, maybe the year...Let the Great World Spin. I wish I was a deeper reader and a better writer, a person who could share with you all the wonderful thoughts you can take away from this book and all the brilliant ways the author used the metaphor of the wirewalker, stepping out over the slums and magnificent high rises of 1974 New York City, stepping out over the sad group of mothers who lost sons in Vietnam and the streetwalkers, stepping out over the noble priest and the hippie artists. I wish I could. All I can do is sigh and say again and again how much I liked it and how you should read it.

Since I have too much to read, I probably rushed through too much of this book. There wasn't enough Phillipe Petit as I expected, but the section about the mothers who lost sons in Vietnam was absolutely brillant. It captures the loss and emotional stress that war can cause on even those who aren't actually in the war, as well as demonstrating the fear that horrific events can bring about. It's amazing that something about Vietnam and a WTC circus stunt can be so exquisitely and subtly related to the events of 9/11.

Since I have too much to read, I probably rushed through too much of this book. There wasn't enough Phillipe Petit as I expected, but the section about the mothers who lost sons in Vietnam was absolutely brillant. It captures the loss and emotional stress that war can cause on even those who aren't actually in the war, as well as demonstrating the fear that horrific events can bring about. It's amazing that something about Vietnam and a WTC circus stunt can be so exquisitely and subtly related to the events of 9/11.

Reading this book is a rich and rewarding experience. The sentences are wonderful and the themes are powerful and important. But. The structure of the book bothers me. Each of the sections works beautifully on its own, but the reader is left to wonder–too much, I think–what the connections are. It's only in the last pages that it comes together, and while that's okay, and those pages saved the novel, I think the structure leaves this one short of greatness.

In 1974, Philippe Petit walked out between the towers of the World Trade Center with nothing to keep him from falling but the cable beneath his feet. He ran, danced, and even lay down on the wire. He was up there for 45 minutes. And the world watched, holding its breath.

Colum McCann highlights Petit's famous stunt in his latest novel Let the Great World Spin. In the shadow of the tightrope walker, various lives intersect in the streets of New York City. They include an artist strung out on cocaine, an Irish missionary, a slew of prostitutes, a grieving Park Avenue mother, among others. Moving back and forth from one character's first-person perspective to another's, McCann effectively nails each voice making up for any confusion the frequent switching causes. With such a great cast and strong voice, it is unfortunate that the novel is split between so many characters, leaving each sorely undeveloped. These characters deserve a full-length novel of their own.

Overall, the story is written well, although some of the subplots have little to do with the main story. In the end, I was left scratching my scalp wondering why McCann felt the need to include certain characters (i.e. the grafitti photographer, the California programmers). I kept hoping for a punch which tied them all together, but was left with none.

From this one work, I can tell that McCann is a great storyteller and master of creating an interesting character. If one can look past the thin wire holding these stories together, and focus instead on the artist dancing on the line, then one should be able to find enjoyment in Let the Great World Spin.