Overall, I would have to say that I liked this book. There were things I liked more than others, but overall I liked it.
What I most liked about this story were the short, episodal, first person narratives. The way McCann jumps into the head of some of these people is beautiful. I really felt their emotions, their pain and grief. Sometimes the characters seemed to speak to me personally and intimately as if it weren't McCann writing, but a grieving mother or a priest that has lost his faith. It was like McCann had somehow stolen the raw, unfiltered emotions of all these vivid characters. It gave the book a very intimate feel. Even if some of the material was depressing and dark, the emotions an the psychology embedded in McCann's writing was astounding. The part when the rich Matron in Manhattan wakes up at night opening and closing the refrigerator trying to connect with her son through the electricity was a good example of this. I really felt her grief, and I pitied her at the same time. Only a truly gifted author can chronicle such a dark and idiosyncratic old women, and leave me feeling empty and lonely.
Another thing I liked about this novel was the writing style. Different people had different language, diction, and sentence structure. For example the prostitute, Tillie, has a large portion of the book that was just short paragraphs. I thought this mirrored perfectly her broken, and impulsive life. Some of the longer paragraphs had more developed ideas about love and her daughter; subjects that she had spent some time thinking about and feeling. Others paragraphs were one word, usually her wallowing in self pity or contemplating suicide. Other characters demonstrating the same changes in writing style. The rich matron had a very nervous and anxious feel to her writing(short and choppy sentences), even though she was obviously educated from her vocabulary. McCann's ability to switch his writing based on the perspective of a character was incredible. Even if the subject matter was dark and left little room for optimism, I was still blown away by the different first person narratives.
One thing I didn't like about this book was some of the content. Much of the novel was dark and gritty. Although that isn't necessarily a bad thing, I was left feeling relatively empty. I had to ask myself "why did McCann write this novel in the first place?" Was it to search for those beautiful moments amidst the chaos of the world? Was it to find beauty in the twin towers before they fell? Or was it just a dark novel describing the harsh, inclement conditions in New York? There was little room left for reconciliation at the end of the novel. There was the glimmer of hope with Jazzlyn's daughters and Gloria and Claire reuniting, but this is too far overshadowed by all the pain and suffering of the rest of the novel.
One more thing. I read this book while on my backpacking trip. It was a very curious book to bring on the trip. After I finished reading about the priest, I put the book down and didn't return to it for about 1 and a half weeks. It was so sad. And I was missing home, and having trouble adjusting to my own very harsh conditions in the wilderness. However, after that initial push through the fog of depravity, I ended up reading this book very quickly. Like I said, Overall I liked this book. It was nice to have the beautiful writing to think about during the long days of hiking.
