Book Thoughts/Review: Transatlantic by Colum McCann

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had read and really enjoyed McCann's "Let the Great World Spin" and high hopes for this novel. While similar in many ways, this book, which I still liked, fell a bit short for me. Based on this book and my prior McCann book, he seems to focus more on connections between characters to present a theme, as opposed to any overarching narrative. Yet, this book seems to go too far in that direction.

The writing is excellent; McCann, regardless of any concerns with narrative or plot development or character development, is easy and interesting to read. But, as I said, the connections between the sections of the book just seemed too tenuous to hold the book together, making it feel like a book of connected short stories rather than one book. The first couple sections (Alcock & Brown's transatlantic flight and Frederick Douglass's visit to Ireland during the potato famine) were engaging and enticing. The third section (Senator Mitchell working towards peace accords in Ireland/Northern Ireland), just seemed to drag without any real direction, and felt repetitive after the first 20 pages or so. The following sections had better direction or flow, but the connections to the first three sections are slight, or distant enough to make it feel distinctly separate.

Knowing that McCann's writing doesn't necessarily rely on plot development, I still think more was needed here. The events that tie the sections together are weak and really make the book lack a sense of continuity. He still effectively gets across the theme of how history never really dies, be it family or otherwise, and how random events can connect people from disparate backgrounds, but such could have been done with a plot/story that was a bit more connected and compelling.

In sum, the book has beautiful writing, an engaging beginning, but a possibly over-elaborate structure that just muddies the potential impact of the book. Others may like it more, and while I did enjoy it, it left me wanting.



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