Let the Great World Spin

This is a book of beauty and grace. The writing is astonishing. The descriptions and insights are sometimes so deep and true that you will stop to savor the thought. While the book looks at life in an unblinking manner, it is redemptive and affirming. It will affect your outlook on life, in a good way.

But what makes this book great is that McCann has brought to life multiple characters whose lives have been touched by observing a common event in New York in 1974. As soon as I started to listen to this book, I had to buy the hardcover version--which I did and which is a magnificent work.

BUT--the Audible version is better than the hardcover. This is a book of voices--in much the same way that Dylan Thomas wrote "Under Milkwood" as a play for voices on the radio. Each chapter in the book is narrated by a different character. In the audio version, each chapter (and character) is narrated by a different actor. The narration is superb and adds a rich and fullfilling dimension to the book that makes it all the more impressive and enjoyable.

If you cherish the great listens in your Audible collection as I do, this is an essential addition. I know that I will listen to it again.

In response to the negative reviews, who claim that the book is without or thin on plot. The plot is not the center-point or focus of the novel, I assure you though it has plot(s). McCann does not spoon feed you though.

The beauty of of this book, however, is discovered in the novels characters. McCann has fleshed out characters so masterfully that it is difficult to believe they are fictional. You get to step into their minds and lives as if you are their closest friends. He lays out their actions and thoughts without condemning or defending them. The novel isn't sentimental, pretentious or judgmental. You will walk on the wire beside each character, watching as their decisive steps carry them back to the safety of the ledge or... you get the point.

I must say, also, the readers are exceptional.

As I listened and/or read, I did not have a sense that I had merely heard a good story, rather that McCann increased the size of my soul. Put another way, Let The Great World Spin, made me feel more deeply human.

Before you read or listen, rent the documentary about Petit's walk entitled "Man on Wire." It's great schema to have. The metaphor of the tightrope is beautiful and thought provoking. Loved every minute of this book and couldn't wait to get back into the car each morning for my commute to work, just so I could be alone with it for 40 uninterrupted minutes.

This is a beautifully written book, that from the outset takes hold and never lets you go. Beginning with the real-life 1974 event of a daredevil tightrope walker who dances on the highwire between the World Trade Towers 110 stories up, this book is more about the lives of the people who see him and of some who don't.

The story is gritty, organic, painful and beautiful, all woven together in a tapestry of real life. The common thread is, the tightrope walker.

I love wonderful prose and natural dialogue, and this book has it all. It pulls no punches and shows us life as it is, with no slick window dressing.

Colum McCann won The National Book Award for Fiction for a good reason. He wrote a great book. The audio performances too are perfect.

Highly recommended.

If you're looking for an audiobook with a single story that continues and builds to a climax, "Let The Great World Spin" may not be for you. Where this book excels is in the narration. Rather than a single narrator reading many characters throughout the whole book, each chapter is presented from the perspective of a different character and is narrated by a different actor. Some are better than others (Middle-aged prostitute "Tillie" is phenomenal, while 18 year old computer hacker "Ben" isn't very convincing as a young, lovesick geek), but all give the book a unique perspective.

Rather than a main story that builds as the book goes on, "Let The Great World Spin" attempts to illustrate how, weaved around a single day, a diverse cast of characters touch each others lives, sometimes without even realizing.

Someone needs to list all of the great books that also happen to be painfully boring audiobooks, so I know which ones to avoid. This book would figure prominently on such a list.

I've come to find that beautifully written books where nothing happens tend to make poor audiobooks. That's exactly the case here. This book creates a vivid set of characters, but it basically stops there. I need more than that in an audiobook, I need to be entertained as well as impressed by use of language. Especially because I can't see and appreciate the words on the page.

I don't think that's a personal failing, but if it is, then I'd recommend that anyone who shares that failing stick to great books where things also happen to happen.

I thought this story was well written, put together with intrigue, and told in a poignant manner. I enjoyed the variety of readers and felt they were well matched to their parts. My parents were both born in NY and I have visted many times. It was a strong look at the city and the people of that city. After finishing I found myself wanting to know more about the development of the story. I highly recommend this listening.

The rich and lyrical writing kept me interested until I began to see the pattern of this novel, a tapestry of lives interwoven and connected and then I relaxed and listened with the sort of satisfaction gained when dining on something delicious and and delicate and rich all at the same time, and with sadness when it came to an end.

All the cbaracters' lives are connected with the tightrope walker, who acts out the dangerous tightrope of the lives of all the characters, some of whom fall and some of whom make it to the other side. Well worth the read and I can certainly see why it won the National Book Award.

Thank the good lord for audio books that I can listen to as I go about my daily business and thus 'read' many more books than I would otherwise.

I am not a reviewer however I feel the need to say how outstanding this book is. In so many ways it is a work of art. A book that stays with you and helps to teach the impossible...read it!

I selected this book for my long-running ladies book club and we really enjoyed it. The writing is lovely and we all enjoyed how different aspects of the city were vividly portrayed by McCann's oh, so complex characters. I highly recommend this book.