[ let the great world spin ]

sometimes you experience a novel so intricate, so encompassing and beautiful. that when you try to explain it to others, you find yourself at a loss of words. which is a shame, because that novel has filled your soul with the most glorious of words. formed into life changing sentences. 

and the least you could do, is tell others about it.

in the words of nicole krauss through leo, 'better to try and fail than not try at all.'

so here it goes.

(no spoilers. promise.)

[ let the great world spin ] by colum mccann

this novel opens with a true act in history.

on august 7, 1974, phillipe petit walked a tightrope wire suspended between the world trade center towers.

this beautiful art was witnessed by thousands below.

with this true event, mccann spins off into the lives of twelve people. all connected to each other through petit.

the reader is introduced to corrigan.

"if he couldn't cure it, he took it on."

"when you tumble. the the test is being able to climb up again."

"pain is nothing. pain is what you give, not what you get."

and lonely housewife claire.

"you can count the dead, but you can't count the cost. we've got no math for heaven."

then estranged lara.

"there comes a point when, tired of losing, you decide to stop failing yourself, or at least try, or to send up the final flair, one last chance."

"i wanted him to curse me, to damn me from a height, for trying to calm my own conscience, for lying, for letting me get away with it, for appearing at his brother's apartment. a further part of me wanted him to actually turn and hit me, really hit me, draw blood, hurt me, ruin me."

"there is, i think, a fear of love.

there is a fear of love."

and wise judge solomon.

"you take your little niche and you make it your own. you ride out the time as best you can. you go home to your good wife and calm her nerves. you kiss her in the elevator because she still looks beautiful, well preserved, despite the years rolling by, she really does."

the ever loving gloria.

"they could not survive without each other. it was like they had spent their lives breathing each other's breath."

jaslyn the culmination.

"i like people who unbalance me."

and so many more.

in four parts, this book transitions from voice to voice, imparting the reader with an array of emotions.

and in the end, you love each character for different reasons.

and appreciate your own definition of the value in life and love.

read it.