History surrounds us, always taking form. Rarely are we those who take a part in its making; most us are nothing more than unwitting witnesses to events that will later be determined to have been meaningful.
In TransAtlantic, Colum McCann ties the tales of multiple historical figures with fictional everyday people, those that came and went leaving a less indelible footprint. The story takes place on two continents, Europe and North America, and spans a good many years. The narrative begins in 2012, moves to 1919, onto 1845, then moves back and forth some more. There is no seeming reason for the particular disarray of the chronological order, but with the passing of the pages we are gradually shown the connections between the characters, and with them, perhaps, the author's purpose for jumping around erratically in time.
Slices of the daily toil and routines abound throughout. It's as if McCann hopes to contrast the mundane details that our lives are made of, between those who've accomplished great things and those of us who've only just passed through life. To a certain degree, it is while those little moments happen that both paths cross, and the distinctive humanity displayed by the great ones during those menial tasks is what leaves the strongest impression upon those with fates of lesser historical impact.
There are moments of sheer beauty in this book, when you force yourself to read slower, that you might savor each passing reference and description a little more. His characters, even the non-fictional ones, are fully fleshed out and carefully drawn to show us every dimension of their beings, blemishes and all. It is an extraordinary achievement. The novel pushes you to turn each coming page, to keep reading until you're done. I highly recommend this book. McCann is spinning gold with his writing.
Read from June 05 to 10, 2013
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