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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
It's possible I just read this one too slowly. Maybe I would have liked it more had I read it faster. Because it ended up feeling more disjointed than I think it should have. I did like how all the characters eventually tied together, but I just didn't love it.
On the day that a Frenchman walks on a tight-rope strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center, people live, people die, families are destroyed and created, and people mourn in the midst of a whimsical spectacle.
McCann eloquently captures the lives of both the high and low born in this sprawling novel of 1970's New York. The central conceit (that this all takes place on the day of the tight-rope walk) sometimes has to be shoved into the story sideways, but the individual stories are compelling. It's been more than a year since I read it, but there are moments in it that stick with me. A good story.
McCann eloquently captures the lives of both the high and low born in this sprawling novel of 1970's New York. The central conceit (that this all takes place on the day of the tight-rope walk) sometimes has to be shoved into the story sideways, but the individual stories are compelling. It's been more than a year since I read it, but there are moments in it that stick with me. A good story.
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is a creeper. I didn't like it at first and stopped halfway through to read other stuff and come back to it. I was rather blase about the whole thing. I wanted to quit but I looked at the description on another website and it urged me to go on. Several stories in, I saw the thread that tied the whole book together, the funambulist. I also realized that virtually everyone mentioned in the book has their own story with their own POV tied together by the funambulist and in a closer inspection Tillie and Jazzlyn.
There were some stories/characters that I didn't care for and others I could read about all day. I really appreciate this book for what it is: a slow build.
There were some stories/characters that I didn't care for and others I could read about all day. I really appreciate this book for what it is: a slow build.
I wanted to quit at times, but certain characters kept me engaged: Claire, Tilly, Gloria & Philippe Petit.
Very enjoyable to learn a bit more about NYC, its neighborhoods & vibe.
Very enjoyable to learn a bit more about NYC, its neighborhoods & vibe.
A terrific book. It took me a little while to accept the format-- just when I was starting to care about someone it would zip on to someone else, but it was wonderfully written and tied together beautifully with the metaphor of the tightrope walker.
The characters have stayed with me for a couple weeks, so I upped this from a 3 to a 4. I enjoyed the book but didn't totally love it. I liked the intersections between all the lives and didn't find them too contrived. I felt like this would be a great book for an angst-ridden adolescent to read to see that all people have their struggles and weaknesses, no matter how together they seem, and also that all people have a story to tell, no matter how different their lives may seem. The book was alternately touching and depressing. And while it was anchored in time by the tightrope walker, that story was somehow just peripheral.