Let The Great World Spin

Colum McCann's third novel, Let the Great World Spin is a seriously ambitious effort and altogether impressive in scope. The novel, (as it must be called, though it seems more a closely woven collection of short stories) takes place in a New York that many have forgotten-The grimy, crime plagued city in a nation still reeling from the death of so many young men in the Vietnam War. McCann uses this setting to tell a fascinating mosaic of stories from as many levels of society that he can muster. The life of immigrants, prostitutes, artists, judges, and mothers of the dead are all investigated with humanity, and without sentimentality.

This is partially what is so impressive about this literary work: McCann characters, though wildly different in situation, are each imbibed with a unique life and voice and come alive. McCann has done serious research on the people and events taking place. The result is a full world, as though seen from above, a framework often tried but rarely as successful as it is here. We are sucked into the lives of characters such as Corrigan, Tillie, and Gloria, to name a few, and forced to view their joys and tragedies. We are confronted, in fact, in a way we uncomfortably attempt avoiding in our normal lives.

Tying the novel's characters together is an event based on a real miracle: Phillipe Petite's illegal tightrope walk between the newly constructed Twin Towers. This sensational event is described throughout the novel with impeccable beauty, and furthers the inclusive world McCann creates. The novel opens with a striking (though not explicit) comparison, tying the sensation experienced by those below, and the noise of the firemen and helicopters to the events of September 11. There is a compelling commentary this provides about the way that such events tie the stories of the people below together in ways that seem otherwise impossible. Even the reader is a part of this connection, part of every story McCann tells of this past to the lives we lead today. This single and beautiful idea is what keeps this often dark story hopeful, and connects not only a story of human tragedy, but of human joy.

BEST BITS:

• What a spectacular opener! McCann's world is expansive right from the get go, connecting everything within the first few concise and exhilarating pages. Pay close attention to the myriad of reactions to the watchers below.

• Tillie's narration in prison is a perfect example of McCann excelling in character voice. Tillie isn't easy to understand, and even easier to condemn, but McCann won't let us do that. Instead he turns what easily could be a stereotype into a believable and pitiable character.

• Corrigan is simply one of the most strangely inspiring and moving characters in modern fiction. If the story consisted of him alone, it would still be worth reading.