| is a fabulous book that is well written and entertaining. The author manages to interweave the lives of several very interesting characters into one coherent slice of life story. He does this by showing how one event in New York city, the high wire walk of Philippe Petit across the World Trade Center towers on August 7, 1974 affected the lives of many in indirect ways. While reading the book, I could not help but wonder if this story was meant to be an analogous to the effect that 9-11 had on the lives of New Yorkers and the world. |
Author Colum McCann received the National Book Award for and it is well deserved. While reading the book, I felt I had been transported back to the early 1970s. The issues of the day are all described through the lives of the characters. You feel the anguish that mothers feel towards the loss of their sons in the Vietnam war. You experience the moral decay of New York city and the hopeless and helpless life of three generations of prostitutes. You also feel the dramatic similarity in the despair of rich and poor alike. More importantly, you also get a sense of how our warmth and love for one another is redemptive. It conquers all obstacles and makes a few very unlikely people become friends, lovers and married couples.
I think that this is a great book—one that will be used in schools and that will withstand the test of time to become a classic of American fiction. I love it and can’t wait to see more work from this excellent author.
