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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
"Let the Great World Spin" is a beautifully written and intricate novel. The story is told by twelve different characters and I enjoyed them all but probably my favorite was down-on-her-luck hooker Tillie --her first-person narrative was raw and powerful. Colum McCann is a skillful storyteller and I especially enjoyed how the characters' lives intertwined in surprising, but completely natural ways.
I guess the disparate narratives thing worked in the end...but I found myself rushing through the vignettes that weren't clearly related to the main story--which is itself kind of hard to articulate. I'll try: This is a story about the interconnectedness and complexity of human life. I'm glad I read it, but I didn't necessarily enjoy it.
I loved how the author brought all of the characters together in the end. It really is such a small world and is a wonderful example of how we're all connected in some small ways. Initially at the beginning of the book there were so many different story lines going on it was difficult to keep them all straight, but the ending was well worth it!
I'm not sure why, but it seems like the majority of books I've read this year consist of a group of characters, a plot that reveals subtly intertwined relationships and some type of connection to New York. Did I miss the memo on the new standard for modern American story-telling? Is our only literary response to 9/11 to discover that we are all somehow connected to one another? It is not a terrible form, but this is one reader who has grown weary of the formula. If there is a list of these books somewhere, let me know so I can avoid the rest.
This with a small caveat to say that I thought the description of the 'Man on Wire' was beautifully done. Again, no harsh criticism on the writing, I just want to read a new story.
This with a small caveat to say that I thought the description of the 'Man on Wire' was beautifully done. Again, no harsh criticism on the writing, I just want to read a new story.
"You lean over and kiss the years because they're what's important."
One of the many beautiful lines in this glorious novel. I took a deep breath when I read it.
In 1974 Philippe Petit strung a wire across the World Trade Centre towers and walked across. He called it "le coup". Others called it the greatest criminal artistic act ever. Colum McCann uses the true event to bind together the linked stories of his masterpiece of a novel, Let the Great World Spin.
When Petit was asked why he performed the stunt, he replied, "There is no why." And there's something about this novel that reflects his response, that shrinks things down to their smallest. There is a craft to it; events, places, people are broken down in such a way that they are at their most significant. McCann creates a small, small world that is amplified in its reduction.
It's refreshing to read something that plucks at the elements of the world--race, gender, class, etc.--and shucks them together so they're all on the same level. No one is better than anyone else. No one is happier, sadder, more fortunate, beneath anyone or anything. Things just ARE. People are people. Events happen. The world continues to spin whether or not people die, love one another, come together despite circumstance, or walk across a wire between two of the tallest structures on earth. THIS is what this novel is about. There is no beginning or end.
What a masterpiece. Read this, with patience. You'll be rewarded for it.
One of the many beautiful lines in this glorious novel. I took a deep breath when I read it.
In 1974 Philippe Petit strung a wire across the World Trade Centre towers and walked across. He called it "le coup". Others called it the greatest criminal artistic act ever. Colum McCann uses the true event to bind together the linked stories of his masterpiece of a novel, Let the Great World Spin.
When Petit was asked why he performed the stunt, he replied, "There is no why." And there's something about this novel that reflects his response, that shrinks things down to their smallest. There is a craft to it; events, places, people are broken down in such a way that they are at their most significant. McCann creates a small, small world that is amplified in its reduction.
It's refreshing to read something that plucks at the elements of the world--race, gender, class, etc.--and shucks them together so they're all on the same level. No one is better than anyone else. No one is happier, sadder, more fortunate, beneath anyone or anything. Things just ARE. People are people. Events happen. The world continues to spin whether or not people die, love one another, come together despite circumstance, or walk across a wire between two of the tallest structures on earth. THIS is what this novel is about. There is no beginning or end.
What a masterpiece. Read this, with patience. You'll be rewarded for it.
challenging
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hmm. This is one of those books that left me hanging at the end. Not in the open-ended, interpret the ending for yourself way, but in the whiplash, what the heck just happened way. The author did a beautiful job narrating from many different, opposing points of view, but switched so often that I never really connected with any of them, save for the mother hooker. The book was fine, but I am still reeling from that ending. I kept turning the page to make sure that was it. Yep, that was it.
Oh I loved this story. Each character was written so beautifully. Each individual story combine to form an intricate picture. Written in the same style as Olive Kitteredge, but this was executed in a much better way.