Saturday, July 02, 2011

Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

On August 7, 1974, Philippe Petit, a French high-wire artist, walked a tightrope between the twin towers of the not yet completed World Trade Center.  This actually occurred, but the rest of the novel is fiction.  Stories of various observers of the walk are presented.   Sometimes it feels like a series of short stories, but many of the characters relate to each other and come together in surprising and interesting ways.

One of my favorite quotes in the book is a character describing letters she wrote home after she went away to college:

"I told them how much I loved my history classes, which was true.  I told them I loved walking the woods, true too.  I told them that I always had clean linen in my dorm room, true as well.

"I gave them all the truth and none of the honesty."

This was my 7th book for the New Author Challenge 2011.  I thought it was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I rate it 5 out of 5. 

2 comments:

Kathy A. Johnson said...

Sounds interesting--you must have really liked it to give it a 5 out of 5. Hope you get to spend some of this weekend reading/painting/quilting!

Patricia Jane said...

Ok - then, I think I need to go ahead and order this. I actually looked at it when it first came out and wasn't sure. I am, however, fascinated with Philippe Petit (because I afraid of heights, especially GREAT heights?), so an intriguing beginning for a novel. Thanks!