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What Members Thought
Ah, this book was what books should be.
True. Raw. Redemptive. Hopeless. Hopeful. Simple. Complex. Poetry.
I just ate up every word of it. The story, the method, the characters. Near perfection for a modern novel.
I picked it up because I am fascinated by the World Trade tightrope walk by Philippe Petit in 1974, but it was woven so masterfully, that it didn't even feel like a convention, but just was there, tying all the stories together.
I loved Claire and Gloria and Fernando and Sable and even Ade ...more
True. Raw. Redemptive. Hopeless. Hopeful. Simple. Complex. Poetry.
I just ate up every word of it. The story, the method, the characters. Near perfection for a modern novel.
I picked it up because I am fascinated by the World Trade tightrope walk by Philippe Petit in 1974, but it was woven so masterfully, that it didn't even feel like a convention, but just was there, tying all the stories together.
I loved Claire and Gloria and Fernando and Sable and even Ade ...more
A beautiful book, full of gems. All I can say is don't give up after the first chapter, which left me kind of cold. The book gets better as it goes along and by the end, it really had me.
The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I didn't always love the rotating-narrative structure. As a piece of literature, McCann's construct made sense but it didn't always make for a great read as a reader. ...more
The only reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because I didn't always love the rotating-narrative structure. As a piece of literature, McCann's construct made sense but it didn't always make for a great read as a reader. ...more
Whenever I take a trip somewhere in the world, I want to choose a book to take along on my journey that will introduce me to the place, the people, their culture and history. During spring break I took several high school students and my son to New York City for four, fun filled days. Let The Great World Spin is the book I chose to accompany me on my journey through The Big Apple.
On August 7th, 1974, Phillipe Petit strung a tightrope across the Twin Towers and danced between the towers in mid ai ...more
On August 7th, 1974, Phillipe Petit strung a tightrope across the Twin Towers and danced between the towers in mid ai ...more
Easily the best novel I have read in the last 5 years.
"The world spins. We stumble on. It is enough." I thought this book was brilliant. It is written about and around an event- a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, before they were fully completed. The walk itself is not the story, but a connection between a number of people and their ordinary, even depressing at times lives, and eventually connections with each other. Each character is interesting and well drawn except the tightrope walker himself, who appears to float above it all in more wa
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A book for people who like reading about the gritty, dismal aspects of NYC life. What made it interesting to me were the historically accurate references to the 1970s, lives lost and ruined by the Vietnam War, and the famous tightrope walk between the Towers. Although I was confused at first by the multiple story lines, I liked how McCann eventually helped us see how they are all related in a "six degrees of separation" sort of way.
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Very interesting storytelling around a true event in history. Took me a while to get through but it really picked up toward the middle and then I didn't want it to end!
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Such an odd mix of characters but most of all I couldn't stop thinking about the tight rope walker in real life.
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After the first 50 pages or so, I couldn't put this down. It is such a beautiful book.
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My only complaint is that it ended too soon!
Mar 03, 2011
Efe
marked it as to-read
May 21, 2012
Kat
marked it as couldn-t-finish-i-tried-really
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review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-wouldn-t-recommend
Oct 14, 2012
Kirsten Barber
marked it as to-read-soon
Jan 09, 2013
Terri
marked it as own
Jun 26, 2015
grace
marked it as to-read
Jul 21, 2017
Kathy Jo
marked it as to-read
Oct 24, 2017
Lori
marked it as to-read
