Please consider joining us for Irish Short Story Week Year Two March 12 to March 22
Colum McCann (Dublin, Ireland, 1965) is a much awarded author of fiction. His most recent book, Let the Great World Spin (2009) is an allegory based on the New York City events of 9/11. It won the very prestigious American National Book Award for fiction. He has written for numerous periodicals. He is a professor of Fiction at CUNY Hunter's College Fine Arts program. I have recently been reading some of the short stories in New Irish Short Stories edited and introduced by Jim O'Connors. There are lots of short stories in the collection by new to me writers, including Colum McCann.
"Aisling" (it may have been published prior to its 2011 publication in the anthology) is a very interesting story. It is narrated in kind of a tale of my day by a married woman with children. There are no dramatic developments and no big revelations but it is a wonderful slice of life and a touching look into the consciousness of the woman narrator. The first sentence is about 150 words or so long. It is not complicated or difficult prose it is just how people think when they go through their day in their minds. We get to see how she feels about her sons and her husband and her life. The prose has a wonderful rhythm that feels completely right to me. It was a lot of fun to read this beautifully written story.
I would like to read more of the work of Colum McCann based on reading this short story.
Please share your experience with Colum McCann with us.
Mel u
I've only read Let The Great World Spin, but it was a favorite a couple of years ago. Would love to sample McCann's short stories, too.
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