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What Members Thought
Well, I guess I was expecting to like this book more than I did. The conceit (spoiler alert?) that every significant character was connected to each other in an intimate and interwoven way made me expect that I was supposed to feel the shock of recognition over and over, like rounding a corner and bumping into an old friend. Unfortunately I kept seeing these encounters coming a mile away, and it was disappointing, like finding out about my own surprise party.
However, his descriptions sometimes t ...more
However, his descriptions sometimes t ...more
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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I have read many books lately that are a series of short stories with so many characters to keep track of. "Message from the Goon Squad" was the first, "The Tiger's Wife" was the second and now "Let the Great World Spin".
I do believe the world continually spins regardless of our lives and how we are intertwined together. In reality, we are all interconnected and humans do touch each others lives regardless of our situations.
New York was a perfect place for this book to play out and I also like ...more
I do believe the world continually spins regardless of our lives and how we are intertwined together. In reality, we are all interconnected and humans do touch each others lives regardless of our situations.
New York was a perfect place for this book to play out and I also like ...more
Wonderfully written, seamlessly woven, and heartbreakingly human. I have a feeling I’ll be recalling scenes and characters from this novel for a while to come. My only critique: there is a chapter (p. 175-197) that doesn’t mesh with the rest of the book and is too jarringly written (confusing, staccato dialogue that isn’t attributed to specific speakers and cannot reasonably be understood by the reader). I skimmed over this section and don’t think it hindered my comprehension of the novel as a w
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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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