Why not? Let the Great World Spin: A Novel

Let the Great World Spin: A Novel by Colum McCann

There is a kernel of truth in this book, like an apricot with a seed around which the juicy fruit clings. The true part is the daring tightrope display by Philippe Petit between the World Trade Center towers on August 7, 1974. There are a couple of chapters about how Petit might have prepared for the feat, and in some way or another all the main characters relate to the events of that day in New York City.

But the juicy part of the book is the characters and their various intertwined stories. This book has a format popular with current writers—chapters are short stories told from different points of view. (The Imperfectionists: A Novel and A Visit from the Goon Squad are two others.) The reader has to remember details hidden along the path of the book to make sense of the plot. Time, point of view, and characters, are all changing throughout the book. As a result, this book may be too challenging for the Attention Deficit Disorder crowd, or even for serious readers who can only afford to read in short interrupted segments.

It isn't a perfect book. I hated an early chapter about siblings growing up in Ireland. And considering the author is Irish, that wasn't a promising start. McCann makes characters in New York—men, women, rich, poor, black, white, young, old—much more interesting and believable. I am not convinced a couple of chapters belong in the book—the characters seem too loosely connected to the plot, and were just not compelling.

But, I loved the book. The story that emerges (after you've put together the scattered clues) is heartbreaking and ennobling. Frequently the language McCann uses and particularly the final chapter where the narrator finds meaning to life, is pure poetry.