Blog Tour: “Let the Great World Spin” by Colum McCann
Please join Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin
Reviewed by Krista C.
Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin
The story places us squarely in the middle of the action, as ten observers of a fictionalized Petit watch the tightrope walker traverse the new urban canyon. By letting the different narrators tell their overlapping stories – nearly all of which take place entirely on that overcast August day – McCann interweaves short stories that capture the essence of a city at a precise place and time.
There is an Irish priest, an artist, a judge, a housewife, a prostitute, a nurse, and a few others characters, plus a sprinkling of the tightrope walker’s thoughts and observations between the narrated stories. McCann unfailingly captures the tone and cadence of the thoughts and speech patterns of each of the dramatically different characters. Except for a short portion of the story set in 2006, Let the Great World Spin
[amazonify]0812973992[/amazonify]Let the Great World Spin
Check out Calum McCann’s website and follow along on his blog tour.
Krista lives just outside the urban sprawl of Portland, Oregon. Lamentably, her work as a technical writer and business analyst often interferes with her reading which is a true passion.
A review copy was provided free of any obligation by Random House. No monetary or any other form of compensation was received.
Category: Literature & Fiction
Just by watching the video clip on Amazon, I can tell the author has written this book as one full of heart and joy. He can come to the greater story by exploring the little ones of various people and leaving you with a feeling of hope.
Carol Wong
This does sound like a beautiful book, love the review. I would love to read this book.I would like to meet the cast of characters.
teakettle58(at)yahoo(dot)com
I actually really like the cover (I've seen it close up so maybe that's the difference) but if you look at it, it resembles the closely woven cable Krista describes in the review, except it's woven from the city itself.
This is a beautifully written review. Thank you so much for being on the tour. I'm so pleased you enjoyed the book and can't wait to start reading it myself!
I will let you know about Get Lucky … one reason I am reading this book is because of Poppy's review that is posted on your site on April 12, 2010.
I usually listen to audio books on the way to and from work – it gets my brain churning early in the morning! Let us know how you like Get Lucky when you're finished.
I just finished a couple of days ago the audio book Conspiracy in Death by: J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) and now I am listening to The Concrete Blond by: Michael Connelly. I am currently reading Get Lucky by: Katherine Center. I like audio books because I take them with me for my daily walks.
I've really gotten into listening to audio books lately and thankfully my library has a huge collection. Making my way through a few Jodi Picoult audio books now…
Vera … Yes that is a large number of awards and I am looking forward to hearing this audio book as soon as finish the one I am listening to now. I didn’t say anything in my first post about the cover of this book, but I find it rather plain and simple not very eye catching; however, I am sure it was designed to match novel.
Hello Vera! I have a gift for you over at my blog!
http://knitsandreads.blogspot.com/2010/05/sunshine-award.html
~Lauri
Wow Steve, that's a lot of awards!
Sounds like a beautifully written and enticing read! I love the idea of these interweaving stories giving you a greater understanding and impression of the city and time period at large. I actually had not heard of this book, so I will need to add it to my TBR list. Thanks for the review.
Colleen T.
Mr. McCann is very talented guy he has been awarded many awards including the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin and in 2003 he was named as one of Esquire Magazine's "Best and Brightest." He has also been awarded a Pushcart Prize, the Rooney Prize, the Irish Novel of the Year Award and the 2002 Ireland Fund of Monaco Princess Grace Memorial Literary Award. He was recently inducted into the Hennessy Hall of Fame. I had no idea what the Hennessy Hall of Fame was even about … you know me I searched till I did found out! The Hennessy award has been going on for 39 years. It appears to be literary award that is given to literary authors from Ireland. There are 3 categories: First Fiction, Emerging Fiction, and Poetry. Plus each year one eminent Irish writer is inducted into the Hall of fame. In the latter, Mr. McCann was an inductee into the Hall of Fame. He has a literary pedigree that has enticed me get this book. I found out that it is available in audio format so I down loaded it after your review. Thanks for posting your review … Very nicely written.
Oh, I've heard so many people rave about this book. It's on my list and I just haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe I should move it up to the top.
I hope some others chime in with the reasons why they enjoyed it.