Hot Weather, Lovely Garden, and Spirited Discussion

Although we missed several of our regulars, our group of seven guaranteed a lively discussion of Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin. The fact that we met on the hottest day of the year -- anywhere on the globe -- was softened by air-conditioning, a lovely garden view, and Heathcliff the dog.

Tableau with non-soggy biscotti

Insights and opinions

+ Phillipe Petit's unauthorized tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center is the unifying thread in this work, but the characters and their stories are so compelling they could have stood on their own without the wire walk. The feat is a metaphor for the struggles of McCann's characters. Each is poised over a personal abyss, risking everything.

+ The author skillfully inhabits his characters, bringing each of them to life, making them believable, and making the reader care.

+ Some found the structure of the book jarring at first. Just as you sink into a character's story, you're forced to leave that character and meet another. But within a few paragraphs, the new character takes over and you are fully engaged. The reader is in good hands. And, patience pays off in the end.

+ McCann is particularly adept at engaging all of the senses in his writing. We smell the city, hear its sounds, taste what the character is tasting. He is equally comfortable in the judge's chamber, the hooker's stroll, and the wire walker's training -- and we believe it all.

+ The female characters in this work are more fully fleshed out than the male characters -- interesting, given the fact the author is male.

 

Would we recommend?

With seven of seven "recommends," the answer is a strong "yes."