Because Ideas Matter...
The faculty and staff of Butler University's College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences presents
Recommended Readings
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann, Random House, 2009
Reviewed by Bill Johnston
Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin
introduces New York City through the memory of astonished, cheering
New Yorkers watching Philippe Petit, on August 7, 1974, as he
walked across a high-wire he strung between the Twin Towers of the
World Trade Center. It was an event they celebrated, or at least
could not help but take note of, as they were commuting into the
City and as more and more people realized something strange was
happening 110 stories up. For at least a brief time, their
lives-people who did not necessarily know one another-were
connected by Petit's feat and as they shared it: "Will he fall?"
"Isn't it unbelievable?" "He's like a dark toy against a cloudy
sky." McCann then relays lives of several New Yorkers. To note:
Corrigan is a monk from Ireland who feeds and befriends hookers and
heroin addicts in the projects. Claire-a woman whose son was killed
in Vietnam. Lara-whose male companion's self-concern finally gives
her no choice but to leave the relationship. Their lives seem
separated, but McCann's story weaves pathways that evolve into
connectedness. The book is a masterpiece (it won both the National
Book Award and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award) and will leave you
musing whether our lives are similarly intertwined. If so, then how
should we approach the unity we must therefore feel as human
beings? Will we be supportive and loving, or will our world view
lead toward self-centeredness? Will we push addictions and
dependencies onto others, or will our individual values promote an
honest understanding of our own weaknesses and culpabilities? It's
an insightful novel that will surely challenge your vision, as it
would for any reader, on how far outward such interconnectedness
extends for you.
- Bill Johnston is Professor of Mathematics at Butler
University.