Let the Great World Spin

Author: Colum McCann

One-sentence summary: On the day a tight rope walker walks between the two World Trade Center towers in August 1974, the lives of New York residents spin around that event yet have vastly different outcomes, attitudes and lives.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6

Our favorite thing about it: The interconnectedness of the stories was well done and there are some brilliant, poignant, and completely beautiful passages in the book.

Our least favorite thing about it: This is not a book with a traditional storyline; there was no build up to a climax and then a wrap up in the end, which can make it slow at times and also dissatisfying at the end. But mainly, there were several completely unnecessary parts and stories that bugged us.

Main Topics of Discussion: Relationships, Cities, Faith, Human Nature, Death, Hope

Our favorite quote: “It had never occurred to me before but everything in New York is built upon another thing, nothing is entirely by itself, each thing as strange as the last, and connected.” (p. 306)

Notes: Most of us thought the book started out a little bit slowly. But some of us thought that it sort of picked up the pace a little bit toward the end. As noted above, there is no real storyline so the momentum and pace was different than another type of novel. The characters were all written completely differently, which we thought was very interesting. The author really seems to squeeze himself into the skin of each of his characters when he tells their stories. Hearing the lives of the people through their voice and vernacular lends a very real quality to the book. In fact, a general feeling we got about the book was that it was a very real and raw book about life in New York City in the 1970s. Death is a central theme and ties several of the characters together. Crime and corruption are also themes as well as hope, which is where we think the tight rope walker relates to the stories. Love and faith are discussed in a somewhat different way than most books, which was fresh and interesting. There were a few parts that seemed completely unrelated to the underlying string that tied the stories together. Frankly, we wondered why those did not end up getting cut by the editor. They slowed the book down and were even confusing at times. Overall, we didn’t enjoy reading this book as much as some of the others we’ve read; however, the glimpses of truth and beauty that the author wrote were well worth reading. He had a way of saying so much with so few words; he would describe things so explicitly without volumes of language. We really enjoyed those nuggets of writing.

Memorable Meeting Moments: We literally raved about Lindsay’s soup, nearly all gave this book the same rating, and did a little planning for our Christmas meeting next month.

What We Ate: Herb-Simmered Beef Stew (aka: the best beef stew any of us has ever had), corn bread, and (the best) chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice cream and Dara’s dulce de leche. And hot tea!