Roses’s review of Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann
Fiction published by Random House 13 Oct 15
A novella and three short stories, so beautifully written, every word chosen just so precisely.
The first is the story of an old man and an unfortunate case of mistaken identity.
The second is an interesting look into the writing and development of characters, how they start and how the layers are added until they become “real”, and we start to wonder about their past and their future.
The next short story is an emotional rollercoaster. In Sh’khol, a single mother and her son live in the Gaeltacht of rural Ireland.
The last one, Treaty, and for me, the most powerful, is about a nun and her past coming to haunt her. This story took my breath away.
Each of these stories can be described in just a few words, but each one is compelling and Mr. McCann’s writing style so exact.
Grade:
Summary:
In the exuberant title novella, a retired judge reflects on his life’s work, unaware as he goes about his daily routines that this particular morning will be his last. In “Sh’khol,” a mother spending Christmas alone with her son confronts the unthinkable when he disappears while swimming off the coast near their home in Ireland. In “Treaty,” an elderly nun catches a snippet of a news report in which it is revealed that the man who once kidnapped and brutalized her is alive, masquerading as an agent of peace. And in “What Time Is It Now, Where You Are?” a writer constructs a story about a Marine in Afghanistan calling home on New Year’s Eve.
Deeply personal, subtly subversive, at times harrowing, and indeed funny, yet also full of comfort, Thirteen Ways of Looking is a striking achievement. With unsurpassed empathy for his characters and their inner lives, Colum McCann forges from their stories a profound tribute to our search for meaning and grace. The collection is a rumination on the power of storytelling in a world where language and memory can sometimes falter, but in the end do not fail us, and a contemplation of the healing power of literature.
No excerpt available.
