Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Let the Great World Spin cover art

Let the Great World Spin

By: Colum McCann
Narrated by: Richard Poe, Gerard Doyle, Carol Monda, Johanna Parker, Ramón de Ocampo, Chris Sorenson, Patricia R. Floyd, Jim Frangione, Alma Cuervo, Lizan Mitchell, Cherise Boothe
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £14.99

Buy Now for £14.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
activate_primeday_promo_in_buybox_DT

Listeners also enjoyed...

USA Noir cover art
Ego Is the Enemy cover art
The Fury cover art
The Rachel Incident cover art
Billy Bathgate cover art
A Nail Through The Heart cover art

Summary

Bloomsbury presents Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, read by Richard Poe, Gerard Doyle, Carol Monda, Johanna Parker, Ramón de Ocampo, Chris Sorenson, Patricia R.Floyd, Jim Frangione, Alma Cuervo, Lizan Mitchell and Cherise Boothe.

Winner of the National Book Award.

New York, August 1974: a man is walking in the sky.

Between the newly built Twin Towers, the man twirls through the air. Far below, the lives of complete strangers spin towards each other: Corrigan, a radical Irish monk working in the Bronx; Claire, a delicate Upper East Side housewife reeling from the death of her son; Lara, a drug-addled young artist; Gloria, solid and proud despite decades of hardship; Tillie, a hooker who used to dream of a better life and Jazzlyn, her beautiful daughter raised on promises that reach beyond the skyline of New York.

In the shadow of one reckless and beautiful act, these disparate lives will collide, and be transformed for ever.

©2009 Colum McCann (P)2009 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Critic reviews

"An astonishing balancing act by a great writer prepared to take risks. A book to treasure." (Daily Mail)

"McCann has reinvented the city of New York in all its breathing, fighting, whining, joyous clamour." (Peter Carey, Observer Books of the Year)

What listeners say about Let the Great World Spin

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    1
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A luminous cinematic epic

One of the most visual and beautiful books I’ve listened to in years. I think Colum McCann is a master of America from the outsider’s perspective. I read “Song Dogs” his first full novel in the 1990’s and loved that but had lost touch with him since, I won’t make that mistake again. This book delightfully weaves multiple perspectives together in a lovely subtle way to form a sort of cubist view of a certain time in New York City and the lives affected by that time in our history. It ties them up in a sublime almost non ending (the good kind)
Really special.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning, simply stunning

I loved this, a fantastic interwoven story with many twists expertly told. Read it when it came out and had forgotten how good this book is.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyed

Cleverly interwoven stories. Well read. So sorry to have finished it. I thoroughly recommend this audiobook.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Wanted more.

Was a good listen, but I expected more from it - more connectivity, more meaningfulness, more wonder.

Not my favourite.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!