Questions About Thirteen Ways of Looking

by Colum McCann (Goodreads Author)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Thirteen Ways of Looking, please sign up.

Answered Questions (2)

Has anyone linked the lines from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird to the chapters of the present book?

Boy Blue Each chapter is already linked by the verse at the start.

flag

Every word a writer writes is autobiographical?

Boy Blue In that every word they write must be pulled from a vocabulary built by their life experience. The trauma from the cowardly attack on McCann is writte…moreIn that every word they write must be pulled from a vocabulary built by their life experience. The trauma from the cowardly attack on McCann is written into each story in Thirteen Ways of Looking. The story Sh'khol clearly shows autobiography pervading a writer's written world. There is no single word in english for a parent who has lost a child but the narrator settles on 'shadowed' just as her son returns from the dead. We feel the meaning from the life she lives, though the translation to someone ignorant of her story may be meaningless. (less)

flag

Unanswered Questions

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more