Reddit reviews Let the Great World Spin: A Novel

Let me go in depth into what I meant:


I don't care about Zeb Vance. Well, I do hope that he's taught about in Asheville schools, but I don't care about his legacy. He is not so important to the current city of Asheville that his name must adorn the downtown obelisk. But that's exactly my point. We don't have a statue of him downtown. We have an obelisk, that, asides from a plaque, does not carry any kind of Vance memento on it. It is a simple stone structure.

I don't see any reason to tear that down. Like you noted, Vance's legacy is already much forgotten. Why tear down the monument, when it can be edited? To most Ashevillians, the monument is more a place marker than a reminder of slavery. THAT BEING SAID, Vance's legacy is one of oppression. I don't see any reason for the monument to have to be related to Vance anymore, but there can still be information around it about the man.


In fact, if the monument was taken down, I expect there would be an plaque or something talking about the former monument. Luckily, we don't have to take it down in order to change its meaning. If you're interested in how the meaning of a particular era or structure can be changed very quickly, I recommend reading Confederate post-war revisionism, or this book.



edit: You're right my analogy about the building wasn't great. I guess what I'm trying to say is that an obelisk is more like a building than a statue. It carries no meaning that can't be repurposed. To me, it's more of a tool than a memorial. Cleopatra's Needle for example, may have been constructed using slave labor, and may have been used a tool of propaganda during Egypt's rule. But now, it sits in Central Park, a beautiful structure and nothing more. In short, obelisks, have no race, class, gender, or borders (unlike a statue, or at least, less like a statue). It's like having a fountain, and then destroying it because it honored a racist. There's no need! Just rename it, and everyone will still enjoy it.

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann
National Book Award Winner 2009: It's an interesting story that weaves multiple plots together, and even tells the stories through multiple POVs. The plots are all brought together by a tightrope walking feat between the Twin Towers.

Olive Kittridge -Strout

A Visit from the Goon Squad -Egan

The Imperfectionists -Rachman

Let the Great World Spin -McCann

Let the great world spin by colum mcCann (one of my favorite books)

also "motherless brooklyn" by jonathon lethem
and "Lucia, Lucia" By adriana trigiani

Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

Bunch of different intertwining stories of the people of New York City, centering around Philippe Petit's tightrope walk of the Twin Towers in the 70's.

"Let the Great World Spin". http://www.amazon.com/Let-Great-World-Spin-Novel/dp/0812973992

Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand

Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann

There's a couple like you in Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin. You should check it out.