Voorheesville Public Library

QUESTIONS

What does Corrigan see as his mission? What are his daily, practical and spiritual struggles?
Why is Lara drawn to Corrigan’s friends?
Why doesn’t anyone report Lara to the police?
Why is Ciaran attracted to Lara?
How does McCann weave aspects of the Vietnam War into the book?
There are many different narratives in this novel. Is the author successful in pulling them together so they make sense, or is it overburdened with stories?
Is there a storyline that seems to form the main plot thread or are they all equal?
McCann experiments with different vocabularies and speech styles, depending on who is speaking (computer hackers, prostitutes, Judge Soderburg, etc.) What do these different styles add to the book?
Which characters’ stories affected you the most? In what way? Which were the least compelling? Why?
What is the significance of Philippe Petit’s daring walk between the towers? Was he irresponsible or brave? What was he trying to communicate with this act? What does his walk represent to the people who witness it or hear about it?
Balzac used Paris as a backdrop for Père Goriot, transforming the city into a character. McCann uses New York in the same way. How would you describe the New York of the novel?
Many of the characters are worn down by life. Which of them are defeated and which are hopeful?
The last section of the novel leaps forward to 2006. Why does the author bring the story up to the present? Do you think this section fits smoothly into the rest of the novel?
What does Judge Soderburg mean when he says (on page 263), “Recklessness and freedom – how did they become a cocktail? It was always his dilemma. The law was a place to protect the powerless and also to circumscribe the most powerful. But what if the powerless didn’t deserve to be walking underneath?”?
Family stories are prominent in this book – Tillie and Jazzlyn, the Soderburgs and their son, Corrigan and Ciaran and their parents. What do these families have in common?

Questions compiled by Suzanne Fisher (fishers@uhls.lib.ny.us)


	Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
	QUESTIONS What does Corrigan see as his mission? What are his daily, practical and spiritual struggles? Why is Lara drawn to Corrigan’s friends? Why doesn’t anyone report Lara to the police? Why is Ciaran attracted to Lara? How does McCann weave aspects of the Vietnam War into the book? There are many different narratives in this novel. Is the author successful in pulling them together so they make sense, or is it overburdened with stories? Is there a storyline that seems to form the main plot thread or are they all equal? McCann experiments with different vocabularies and speech styles, depending on who is speaking (computer hackers, prostitutes, Judge Soderburg, etc.) What do these different styles add to the book? Which characters’ stories affected you the most? In what way? Which were the least compelling? Why? What is the significance of Philippe Petit’s daring walk between the towers? Was he irresponsible or brave? What was he trying to communicate with this act? What does his walk represent to the people who witness it or hear about it? Balzac used Paris as a backdrop for Père Goriot, transforming the city into a character. McCann uses New York in the same way. How would you describe the New York of the novel? Many of the characters are worn down by life. Which of them are defeated and which are hopeful? The last section of the novel leaps forward to 2006. Why does the author bring the story up to the present? Do you think this section fits smoothly into the rest of the novel? What does Judge Soderburg mean when he says (on page 263), “Recklessness and freedom – how did they become a cocktail? It was always his dilemma. The law was a place to protect the powerless and also to circumscribe the most powerful. But what if the powerless didn’t deserve to be walking underneath?”? Family stories are prominent in this book – Tillie and Jazzlyn, the Soderburgs and their son, Corrigan and Ciaran and their parents. What do these families have in common? Questions compiled by Suzanne Fisher (fishers@uhls.lib.ny.us)