I found Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann on a top of 2009 list that Chapters sent me. It was in position number one and sounded interesting to me, so I gambled a bit and threw some of my Christmas money at a hard cover.
It is a novel of different short stories co-existing with a historical dare-devil at it’s core. In 1974 Phillipe Petit walked a tight rope wire between the World Trade Center towers. Amazing as Mr. Petit’s accomplishment is, it is not the subject of the book, but rather a backdrop for a variety of New York stories, one that periodically pops up to tie them together.
I was immediately intrigued by Let The Great World Spin, mainly due to the first character we meet, an “undercover” priest who befriends hookers. Corrigan cares little about his own well being, appearence or possessions, but really goes all out in serving the down and outers. Living in a run down apartment in the Bronx, he leaves his door unlocked at all hours so that the girls have a place to go to the washroom. I was so into his story and those around him until… well his role in the book grows smaller.
After Corrigan, each chapter is from a different characters view and tells their own tale of despair, friendship or triumph, usually with the tight rope walker appearing in the background. The problem for me was that some stories worked for me but most did not, I really could have cared less about their ups and downs.
I recently read about one literary professor who upon starting a book asks, “Why do I care about this character and the story?” If after five pages she doesn’t have an answer she drops the book. She asks the same question after 50, 100 and 200 pages. A good question me thinks.
I think I stopped caring at about the 200 page mark, but I really have a hard time quitting on a book. I always feel like I might miss out on something, plus I dropped like 30 bones for it, what kind of Menno would I be if I didn’t read every word?
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