The stories in this novel take place in the 1970s and are loosely based around the real-life story of Phillip Petite, a man who walked a tightrope between the twin towers in 1974. The novel is made up of several interwoven stories, all from different points of view.
The author has an inspiring ability to cause a reader to invest fully in a character, when even pages ago the reader was fully invested in another life. McCann's characters range from a conflicted Irish clergyman to a middle aged woman mourning the loss of her son, from a grandmother who walks the streets to a young artist couple caught up in crisis. As a reader, I found myself connecting with each character, feeling anger, sorrow, joy, confusion and more alongside them.
At the beginning of the novel, it seems the only common thread between the lives of its characters is some form of interacting with, noticing or being awed by the tightrope walker. By the end though, the reader is able to see how this patchwork of characters is connected in more ways than one.
I come away from reading "Let the Great World Spin" considering the many ways in which our lives are tied together. I wonder about how little time we spend getting to know our neighbors, seeing their struggles, finding common ground. McCann's words showed me that life is full of obstacles and hardships, but when we zoom out, it truly is a thing of beauty.
