- Paperback: 375 pages
- Publisher: Random House Trade (4 Dec 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0812973992
- ISBN-13: 978-0812973990
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 2 x 20.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,213,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Let the Great World Spin
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"I worry about Colum McCann. What is he going to do after this blockbuster groundbreaking heartbreaking symphony of a novel?"
--Frank McCourt
`One of the most electric, profound novels I have read in years' --New York Times
`An exceptional performance by a writer whose originality and profound humanity is evident throughout this highly original and wondrous novel' --Independent
`McCann makes his prose dance across the surface of this ingeniously constructed novel. He is a fearless writer, experimenting with narrative styles, leaping from one story to the next'
--Daily Telegraph
`A wow of a novel - rich, humane, brilliantly written and as deep as it is wide' --The Times
`One of the most electric, profound novels I have read in years ... an emotional tour de force' --New York Times
`An astonishing balancing act by a great writer prepared to take risks. A book to treasure' --Daily Mail
`[A] blockbuster groundbreaking heartbreaking symphony of a novel. No novelist writing of New York has climbed higher, dived deeper'
--Frank McCourt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--Frank McCourt
`One of the most electric, profound novels I have read in years' --New York Times
`An exceptional performance by a writer whose originality and profound humanity is evident throughout this highly original and wondrous novel' --Independent
`McCann makes his prose dance across the surface of this ingeniously constructed novel. He is a fearless writer, experimenting with narrative styles, leaping from one story to the next'
--Daily Telegraph
`A wow of a novel - rich, humane, brilliantly written and as deep as it is wide' --The Times
`One of the most electric, profound novels I have read in years ... an emotional tour de force' --New York Times
`An astonishing balancing act by a great writer prepared to take risks. A book to treasure' --Daily Mail
`[A] blockbuster groundbreaking heartbreaking symphony of a novel. No novelist writing of New York has climbed higher, dived deeper'
--Frank McCourt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Every character...grabs you by the throat and makes you care. McCann's dazzling polyphony walks the high wire and succeeds triumphantly'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A series of stories about the intertwined lives of New Yorkers, this book captures the essence of the city. The act that knits these lives together is a high wire walk between the twin towers, yet this momentous feat seemed strangely underplayed. A struggling Irish monk who falls in love, a group of grieving mothers, a huddle of New York prostitutes - the characters seemed predictable and one of the book's central themes - of loss and longing - only left a fleeting impression. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't read it again.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In 1974 Phillipe Petite strung a wire between the Twin Towers and for a couple of hours walked in the air between them. The act reverberated through history as the greatest piece of art history ever conceived and forms the vignette around which this complex novel revolves.
The image of the man on the wire haunts the novel, as the characters talk about him, watch him, try him, and are inspired by him.
Corrigan, a monk, torn between the love of a woman and the love of God. Jazzlyn and Tillie, the mother and daughter hookers, who he allows to use his toilet. Claire and her husband, Solomon, grieving for the death of their son in Vietnam. This is an ensemble piece, built up from a range of people who are all affected, directly or indirectly, by Petite's stunt.
The book is so beautifully written, so pitch perfect, that it is a joy to read. The characters voices, all distinct, but joined by a weariness, express real emotion and despite the inherent sadness of the subject matter are exhilarating.
Although the stories interconnect, often leading one into another or events from one having repercussions in one much later, the story never feels forced or searching for a tidy solution. Only Fernando, the thirteen year photographer seems incongruous and unneccessary, everything else has it's place and purpose.
It was would be easy to call this a 9/11 novel, but whilst the act is present in the future of the Towers, this is a celebration of a willful and artistic piece of terrorism, not a destructive one.
This is one of the best books I have read this year, if not the best. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The image of the man on the wire haunts the novel, as the characters talk about him, watch him, try him, and are inspired by him.
Corrigan, a monk, torn between the love of a woman and the love of God. Jazzlyn and Tillie, the mother and daughter hookers, who he allows to use his toilet. Claire and her husband, Solomon, grieving for the death of their son in Vietnam. This is an ensemble piece, built up from a range of people who are all affected, directly or indirectly, by Petite's stunt.
The book is so beautifully written, so pitch perfect, that it is a joy to read. The characters voices, all distinct, but joined by a weariness, express real emotion and despite the inherent sadness of the subject matter are exhilarating.
Although the stories interconnect, often leading one into another or events from one having repercussions in one much later, the story never feels forced or searching for a tidy solution. Only Fernando, the thirteen year photographer seems incongruous and unneccessary, everything else has it's place and purpose.
It was would be easy to call this a 9/11 novel, but whilst the act is present in the future of the Towers, this is a celebration of a willful and artistic piece of terrorism, not a destructive one.
This is one of the best books I have read this year, if not the best. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For a number of years I have been particularly impressed by the work of Colum McCann but for me this is his greatest achievement so far.Set against the background of Phippe Petit's amazing tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974,the novel focusses on the lives of various New Yorkers who are all in some slight way connected with the Frenchman's acrobatic feat and presents to the reader in highly poetic,moving and yet humorous language their sorrows and aspirations often linked to the political and social upheavals of seventies America(the Viet Nam War,the dispossession of Blacks)which make each of the characters credible and involving.Essentially the book tells the story of New York at a particular moment in its history evoking memories of Joyce's Dubliners and Döblin's Berlin Alexanderplatz.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Dizzying prose - a rich, complex read
This was an amazing book in many ways. At its heart, I think it is a meditation on goodness set against the backdrop of New York. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Victoria Field
New York, connected
High above New York City, early morning one day in the 1970s, a wire strung between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre supports a death-defying tightrope walker. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Steve Keen
A very American book that takes you into the psyche
Americans talk about 'post-9/11 books' and this one feels as though it falls into that category. I was initially unconvinced by its style of leaping from unconnected New York... Read more
Published 4 months ago by scotsgirl
Great NYC Novel
Having been superficially attracted to this book via the 'Man on Wire' cover (itself a magnificent documentary film), it became clear that the focus of the book was much wider than... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Keith M
AN AMBIVALENT READ
This was a strange read.At times I found it engrossing,moving.heart rending,and a wonderful piece of writing. Read more
Published 8 months ago by bibliophile
let the great world spin
This was the first book I had read by this author and what a discovery. I am now getting through all of his books and have yet to be disappointed . Read more
Published 9 months ago by wangfujing
Over-praised
Bombastic, over-written and cliched. At it's worst, it's rather like the Paul Haggis film, 'Crash'. I am mystified as to why such a stale, airless work has been praised so highly.
Published 9 months ago by C. Vaughan
Dull, dull, dull
I had to read this book for book club, but like many of the reviewers who gave 1 or 2 stars, I disliked the experience. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mrs. Jane Gordon
Interesting read
This is an interesting book based (very loosely) on an actual event ie a man walking a wire between the twin towers when they were newly built. Read more
Published 9 months ago by History addict
stop and let me off!
I really found it hard to connect with this book and its interwoven web of characters.I cant identify a single thing i didint like but just felt it didint gel and certainly didint... Read more
Published 9 months ago by flic
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