"A Reminder to Look Up" Let the Great World Spin

The book club for March is memorable: not only was the selection a solid 10, but our hostess and her house were way above par. A good time was had by all, even though several admitted they hadn't finished or that they disliked Corrigan, one of the story's central characters.

I finished the book sometime in February and ordered my own copy, lent it out to a fellow clubber, and skimmed it again the night before our meeting to bring back to mind what I liked most about the book. First of all, like my distraction with TC Boyle as a native New Yorker, I want to also meet Colum McCann who teaches creative writing in NYC and who I hope will one day venture north to speak at our Writers' Institute. Let me further extol the book by saying it will remain on my short list, along with All the King's Men, of candidates for the Great American Novel. This is a novel that reads better each time: it can be read for nostalgia, for admiring McCann's clever structure and parallel characters, for the best sense of NYC being a "small town" and folks interconnected, for inspiration.

McCann like Boyle favors puns and poetic phrases that both seduce the reader and flourish the characters. Speaking of the folk who populate the story, I don't think I'd ever want any of them as best friends. But all are strikingly real and ultimately likable. McCann, like Corrigan, cannot help but see and portray the best in everyone. Pain is consoled by community; forgiveness abounds; generosity permeates a city know for being cold and aloof.

Written in 2009, it is a wonderful tribute to the World Trade Centers, especially for us older folk who remember working and eating there and being always anxious to visit. They were more than inspirational because they were alive, not designed as a city's signature visitors center. Although unnamed in the novel, Petit becomes the icon of work as personal fulfillment. His dedication, determination and training contrast with his judge and with Corrigan's chosen careers.

The plot investigates what it means to inspire and to connect with one's fellowmen. It is idealistic and inspirational, American ... written by an Irishman about a Frenchman. I hope I have time to peruse it every now and then. I guess it belongs on my coffee table and not in the bookcase upstairs.